Singled Out
by blackcat9517
Summary: Mikan Sakura had never imagined working as a forensic scientist under a very grumpy agent could be such a nuisance.
1. Prologue

**Title:** Singled Out

**Author: **blackcat9517

**Summary:** Mikan Sakura had never imagined working as a forensic scientist under a very grumpy agent could be such a nuisance.

**Pairing:** Natsume Hyuuga and Mikan Sakura

**Rating: **T

**Author's Note: **This fanfic is based out of NCIS. Well, almost. Think of it like a Gakuen Alice version. It just came to me so I had the urge to write one. No Copyright infringement intended. Gakuen Alice is not mine. Yes, for those who noticed, the title is from an episode of NCIS. Realized that after my brother mentioned it.

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A man about six feet tall dressed in a white lab coat stormed out of the elevator and into the soon to be crowded bull pen. It was a beautiful Monday morning but not for the forensic scientist and will it ever be the same for him ever again. He grumbled incoherent words under his breath and quickly ran up the stairs, heading towards his boss's office, ignoring the secretary

"Excuse me sir, but the Director-"

The man opened the door and walked towards Director Imai's desk before slamming the piece of paper he had been clutching "I quit!" he exclaimed and stormed out of the room, slamming the metal door

Hotaru arched an eyebrow before grabbing the piece of paper that lay motionless on her wooden desk. She read the resignation letter before heaving a sigh and opened a drawer filled with countless resignation letters from forensic scientists that have once worked here. She stashed the letter and closed the drawer "There goes another one" she muttered

This was the tenth time a forensic scientist quit in three months thanks to a certain agent. She was getting tired of hiring a new one and her agent's intolerant attitude has been getting on her nerves "I wonder what kind of excuse Hyuuga will come up with this time?"

* * *

Special Agent Tsubasa Andou stepped out of the elevator with his trademark grin plastered on his handsome face. Walking along the bull pen, he saw his co-worker, Special Agent Misaki Harada talking on her phone and it looked pretty serious "Morning, Misaki" he greeted but her only reply was a nod.

The smug was quickly replaced by a puzzled look. Noticing this, Misaki covered the speaker of her phone with her palm "How do you tell someone you don't want to see him again?" she questioned

Tsubasa's lips formed a smirk as he felt as though the burdens on his shoulders were lifted "Easy" he replied and snatched the phone "Listen here, idiot. This is Misaki's husband. I have your phone number now and I can track you down. If you do not leave her alone, I will find you, knock you unconscious then feed you to the sharks. Lose this number and you'll live" with that, he ended the call and gave the phone back to a stunned Misaki "You're welcome" he said with a grin.

Misaki who had her mouth agape, regained her composure moments later and slowly took the phone back "That was my Aunt asking for advice since her ex-boyfriend won't stop bugging her..."

Tsubasa's eyes widen as he realized his mistake "Why didn't you stop me?"

"I was too shocked" she replied before walking towards her desk, grabbing a sticky note and a pen, she scribbled something and pasted the paper on Tsubasa's forehead "Send her flowers"

Misaki sat back at her desk and continued typing a couple of things on the computer.

Tsubasa on the other hand, shrugged and grabbed the paper that was hanging on his forehead "Try and warn me next time and my forehead is not for sticky notes"

"What's with the sticky note, Tsubasa?" Hayate Matsudaira questioned as he passed his friend, approaching his desk, taking his seat and tossed the backpack aside

"Long story" came the agent's reply before walking back to his work station "What's with you? You seem... giddy?"

Hayate arched an eyebrow "Haven't you heard? That forensic scientist that Director Imai hired two weeks ago resigned"

"Yeah, we know" came both of Misaki and Tsubasa's reply

"I wonder when we'll get a new one or will we ever get one?" questioned the agent

"Not in the nearest time" said a deep voice. The man dressed in a black suit and blue shirt walked towards his desk which was just in front of Hayate's. He set his coffee down as the phone started ringing "Hyuuga" he answered with his typical gruff voice. A few seconds later, he put the phone down "Dead guy at Shinjuku" he then opened a drawer and took out his gun and badge. The others did the same and followed their boss into the elevator. Special Agent Natsume Hyuuga was in a foul mood. The meeting with the director had just spoiled his day and the last thing he needed is a dead man. Working for the Naval agency can be quite annoying.

"Can I drive?" Hayate asked and received a glare from Natsume which made him change his mind "Never mind"

* * *

The agents reached there in less than thirty minutes due to some heavy traffic. They were surprised to see their medical examiner already present at the crime scene

"Good morning, Natsume" the medical examiner, Luka Nogi greeted at his friend while examining the dead man that was lying motionless at the side of the street

"Morning, Luka" the agent replied

Having worked with Natsume for more than seven years, the medical examiner knew he was waiting for the usual briefing "The victim was stabbed multiple times at the back. Blunt force trauma was the cause of death. There are bruises at the back too but it's obvious he wasn't tortured here. Seems like he was-"

"Running"

Hayate approached his boss after collecting the evidence and information before looking at his notepad "Victim's name is Petty Officer Igarashi Hirukawa. We found his ID and credit card in his wallet. Nothing seems to be missing. Wasn't robbery. A witness said that he saw the vic running out of the alley over there" the agent pointed his finger at a dark alley nearby "before collapsing here... and died"

"I see something in his flesh" Luka said, gaining both of the agents' attention. He slowly took out his a small piece of shard from one of the victim's wounds, the white glove getting darker "It must be a piece of the murder weapon. It could be ceramic. I'll have the forensic..." he paused, realizing that they don't have one "I think we have a bit of a problem"

"A forensic issue" whispered Hayate to the medical examiner before receiving a glare from his boss. He held the black camera firmly in his hands as the glare had taken him off guard. He decided to keep his mouth shut, knowing that it will just get him into more trouble.

"What did you say Matsudaira?" questioned the annoyed man in front of him

Hayate gulped and tried to think of an answer "What I meant was... We need to... find a new forensic scientist..." as quick as lighting, the young agent continued his work of taking photos of the dead man.

Luka knew what was about to come knowing how his friend was very impatient and had a nasty temper "I can analyze the evidence myself after I perform a full autopsy, that is until the director hires a new one but my work might be a bit slow"

Natsume shrugged looking at his two other agents that were taking statements from witnesses "Fine with me" it was then his eyes caught something in the victim's jacket "What's that in his jacket?"

Luka arched an eyebrow and turned the victim over to get a better look. Something fell out of the jacket, a folded piece of paper. He unfolded it and was startled of what was printed.

_'Hello Agent Hyuuga'_

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Chapter one is done. More like a prologue. Mikan will be introduced in the next chapter.


	2. The Forensic Scientist

**So here it is, chapter 2 of Singled Out and I would just like to thank the reviewers for the positive feedbacks. I'm happy to know you guys are enjoying it.**

**Seema: Thanks. Glad you're enjoying it**

**Cat: Well, I will try to update as soon as possible or whenever I'm free but I can't promise you anything.**

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_'Hello Agent Hyuuga'__  
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The three simple words had stunned Luka. It would seem that they're dealing with a serial killer or someone out for vengeance against Natsume "Natsume..." the medical examiner called out to his friend who seemed calm and collected as always

Natsume took the piece of paper with his gloved hand and examined it. They were printed in a Times Roman font. It was obvious the killer didn't want to be identified by his hand writing. He then took the evidence bag Hayate offered and put it inside before sealing the bag

The agent then noticed the worried look on Luka's face and reassured him that there was nothing to worry about but it had him thinking why the murderer was after him

There were so many reasons anyway. He could have put the killer behind bars at one time or maybe they were dealing with a psycho. Not to mention the fact that a lot of people despised him.

Tsubasa and Misaki approached their boss after collecting statements from the witnesses. They noticed the evidence bag he was clutching "You guys found something?" questioned Tsubasa

Hayate quickly shut his fellow friend up by slapping his friend's arm with his hand as the three agents received a glare from their boss

Natsume entered his black car and drove off leaving his agents behind forcing them to tag along with the Navy issued van. The others had been left wondering where their boss was going. Probably to the coffee shop.

An hour later, they were done processing the crime scene. As they approached the vehicle, both Hayate and Tsubasa began to argue of who will be sitting at the front since both agents never did like sitting with a dead body

"I'll take the front seat. I don't want to sit with a dead guy" Tsubasa said as he raced with Hayate to the van

"Not if I get there first!"

As both agents grabbed hold of the door, they were surprised to see Misaki beside the driver seat "Looks like both of you are sitting with a dead marine"

Luka then entered the van and noticed the two agents outside "Well, what are you guys waiting for? Get inside" he ordered

Hayate's brows furrowed and Tsubasa couldn't help but frown. They will never understand how Misaki was able to do anything at a short period of time

* * *

As soon as Luka was done performing a full autopsy on the victim, he could hear the ping sound of the elevator and smiled. On time as always "You know, I've been wondering. How do you always seem to enter the autopsy on time whenever I have something?" the medical examiner said to his friend who had just entered the autopsy room

Natsume simply shrugged with a small smile plastered on his handsome face "What do you have, Luka?"

"Well, I was right that the victim did not only died because of the multiple stabs at his back but because of blunt force trauma" he explained and guided the agent to the huge monitor showing off X-ray photos "His skull is fractured. Judging from the wound, I'm guessing the victim was hit with a wooden object as I found small pieces of wood on his hair"

Luka then walked back to the autopsy table, followed by Natsume "I also found bruises on his wrist and knuckles which shows signs of struggle. Not only that but I discovered traces of DNA under his fingernails. The victim definitely had some sort of struggle with the suspect" after the medical examiner had finished explaining, Natsume's cell phone rang

"Hyuuga... Yeah. I'll be right up" he ended the call before walking out of the autopsy room "Thanks, Luka"

* * *

Special Agent Tsubasa Andou stared at the 32 inch monitor screen displaying the victim's profile. His brows furrowed and glanced at his other two agents. Hayate was tasked with finding the whereabouts of the victim's family. When he's been ordered to do something, he'll do it with full concentration. He then noticed that Misaki had been on the phone for five minutes but decided not to disturb her seeing how ugly it will turn out.

Natsume entered the bull pen and stood beside Tsubasa, coffee in hand "Hey boss" the agent greeted "I did some research on our dead marine and it looks like someone filed a restraining order against him. Guess who?" the agent asked but his boss never said a word and so he pressed a button on the small remote, another window popping up "It is no other than his ex-fiancée, Miyoko Akawa" the agent explained

"All right, thank you" Misaki put down the phone and stood beside Tsubasa "I just got off with Hirukawa's commanding officer and he said that this man" she pointed her finger at the picture of the victim on the screen "hasn't come to work for two days"

Natsume drank his coffee and nodded "Matsudaira, what do you have?"

Hayate nearly jumped and heaved a sigh, startled by his boss "Well, I tried to find the vic's family and there's only one, his brother, Sasuke Hirukawa. Lives at Akihabara, a lawyer, married" he then transferred the information onto the larger screen

Agent Hyuuga took another sip of his drink before he started barking orders at his agents "Andou, Harada, go and find the vic's girlfriend. Matsudaira, you're with me"

"On it" Tsubass replied and took out his gun and badge out of the drawer of his desk, Misaki did the same and both entered the elevator

"Where are we going, boss?" questioned Hayate as he grabbed his jacket and gears.

"Akihabara. You got the address?"

The young agent quickly scribbled down the address from the monitor on his desk and ran towards the elevator where his boss was waiting for him.

* * *

A black SUV pulled by in front of a ten story apartment. Both Tsubasa and Misaki exited the car "Are you sure this is the place Tsubasa?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"It looks all old and creepy" Misaki commented as both walked into the building

They decided take the elevator and Tsubasa pressed the button for the third floor. A few seconds later, the two doors split and both stepped out "What room is she staying at?"

"Uh..." the agent took out a piece of paper out of his left pocket "305"

It wasn't much of a hassle finding it and Tsubasa made the first move by knocking the door "Miss Akawa, federal agents. Please open the door" they waited for a couple of seconds before the door slowly opened

A woman with auburn hair and black eyes filled with fear stared at the two agents "Hi there, I'm Special Agent Andou" he then took out his agent ID and showed it to the woman before hiding it back in his suit, noticing the relieved look "And this is Special Agent Harada. We'd like to ask you a few questions regarding Petty Officer Igarashi Hirukawa"

"Igarashi-kun? What happened?" her voice was full of concern but her eyes told a different story

Both agents exchange glances before Misaki started explaining the incident "He was found dead at Shinjuku this morning"

The woman sighed and asked both of the agents to come in seeing that they've been outside for quite some time.

"So what can I help you with?" she asked and took a seat beside the couch. Misaki remained on the sofa but Tsubasa decided to do a little snooping around the house

"Nice place you got here" he commented, eyes searching for anything that might give them a clue

"Thank you" the woman replied shyly

"Now Miss Akawa, we were hoping you could tell us why you filed a restraining order against him"

She was quiet at first "We... He wouldn't stop following me after I broke our engagement"

"Where were you between eight pm to ten pm last night?" Misaki questioned as she scribbled down notes

"I was at home and my neighbour can confirm that"

"Sorry to ask you this but why did you broke it off? The engagement I meant" questioned Tsubasa as his eyes caught something leaning against the wall at the corner of the room

"I found out he was cheating on me just a couple of weeks before our wedding"

The agent decided to take a closer look at the baseball bat "May I?"

"Sure"

He took out his glove and wore it before picking up the bat. He noticed that there was traces of blood at the top of it "Do you mind if we borrow this?"

"Um... Sure but am I in some kind of trouble?" the woman asked, getting nervous by the minute

Misaki rose from the couch and walked towards the door, followed by her partner "Trouble? No but don't go anywhere far. Thank you for your time Miss Akawa"

Natsume and Hayate on the other hand, didn't get much from the victim's brother either other than seeing how shocked he was but then Natsume noticed that the victim's brother had a few minor scratches on his face. They questioned him but he has not seen or heard from his brother for two weeks

Tsubass and Misaki reported to their boss of what they had discovered and left the evidence in the lab for Luka to be processed

* * *

Morning came quickly and Luka decided to make a quick visit to the lab knowing that he had to process the evidence. The elevator doors opened and he was surprised to see someone in the lab.

"Excuse me, can I help you with something?" the medical examiner asked the woman with long auburn hair dressed in a white lab coat. She had her back facing him.

The brunette turned around with her big hazel eyes locking with his blue orbs "No... Not really. You must be the medical examiner right? Luka Nogi?"

"Yes. How did..." he was speechless for a moment

"I know your name?" her smile grew wider "Hotaru-chan told me about you. I'm Mikan Sakura by the way but people usually call me Mikan and I'm your new temporary forensic scientist"

'Hotaru-chan?' he mentally snickered and cleared his throat as he shook the thought off his mind "Nice to meet you Mikan" he smiled and shook her hand "Welcome to the Tokyo Naval Agency but what do you mean by 'temporary'?"

"Well, you see, I'm actually from the Osaka Naval Agency and Hotaru-chan called me, asking me to work here temporarily but don't worry. She already gave me a briefing about your current case and I'm currently comparing the blood found on the bat and the vic's and the pieces of wood found on the vic's hair so it should be ready in about an hour or two" Mikan explained and smiled at a stunned Luka

"Okay. I have to go down to autopsy...so yeah, nice meeting you Sakura- I mean Mikan" he smiled at her before walking out of the lab

As if on cue, the doors of the elevator opened and Natsume stepped out, nodding as Luka greeted him and told him about the new forensic scientist "Yeah I know" came his usual reply

He entered the lab and examined the new forensic scientist who was had her eyes fixed on the monitor. He then cleared his throat, trying to catch her attention. Mikan turned around, startled by another presence and by his looks "You must be Agent Hyuuga"

Natsume nodded and crossed his arms "I need my result" he requested as he locked his crimson eyes with her own brown eyes. Director Imai had told him about a new temporary forensic scientist and couldn't wait to see how stupid the new one is since all the previous ones cower upon him and would usually be in a state of panic.

She broke the contact before resuming her work "I'm sorry Agent Hyuuga but your results will be ready in an hour"

The agent frowned at her reply "I need them now. There's a serial killer on the loose"

Mikan crossed her arms "And I need you to be patient. You can't rush Science, Agent Hyuuga. It's not something you can easily do. Which would you prefer? Let the killer walk out of court freely or wait for an hour and you can catch the bad guy or get a lead" she had never met a person with such little patience in her entire life. Even her boss wasn't this impatient when she first worked for him. She never did get along with grumpy people.

Natsume on the other hand, was quite shocked despite the fact he seemed calm and collected. No one has ever talked back to him like that, ever. Well, except for his father. He smirked. She did have a point though "You have an hour to give me my result, Miss Sakura" with that, he walked out of the lab.

Mikan smiled "Sure thing Agent Hyuuga"

Natsume's lips formed a small smile as he entered the elevator "It's Hyuuga, Miss Sakura"

"And it's Mikan, Agent Hyuuga"

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**Yes, sadly Mikan's debut had to be a short one but this is chapter 2. Hope you guys enjoyed it.**


	3. Cat and Mouse

**Alrighty. Here is chapter 3 of Singled Out. I'm very happy with all the positive feedbacks from you guys. Thank you so much to the anonymous reviewers too.**

**Now then, chainedheart999 asked me if I could give the characters' profiles/bios. It's not really a good idea doing that since it will spoil the whole story. Therefore, I will reveal them through out the story. **

**If you guys have any question please do not hesitate to ask. Now enjoy chapter 3**

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The three remaining agents that were at the bull pen, Tsubasa, Misaki and Hayate had their mouth agape as they witnessed the scene on the flat screen that was hanging on the wall as Hayate had managed to transfer the feed of the lab camera onto the 32 inch monitor

They had been spying ever since their boss decided to visit the lab where the new forensic scientist was. What had happened was beyond their expectations. Never they had seen their boss being talked back without showing any fear

"That... Was just epic" Tsubasa said, eyes still glued to the monitor as he rewinded the footage over and over

"Yeah. Special Agent Hyuuga has finally found his long lost match" Hayate uttered, enjoying every single moment of the video

Misaki blinked her eyes a couple of times "I can't believe it. It's like he was like any other normal person to her"

"How long do you think she'll last?"

Hayate thought for a while "I'm guessing one month"

"But she had the guts to snap back at Hyuuga. Two months" Tsubasa argued and both agents began rambling

"Five!"

The two bickering agents stopped and stared at Misaki "We'll see" both said before playing the video back.

"I am so going to keep this. I just love the part where she said the which would you prefer part!" exclaimed Agent Andou and burst into a fit of laughter "It keeps getting better and better with every clip"

"I like the part where I head slap the three of you" Natsume interrupted as he stood behind the three startled agents, scaring them in the process

"You're right behind us aren't you, boss?"

"Yup"

"How long have you been there"

He shrugged "Long enough" with that, he started smacking Tsubasa at the back of the head followed by Hayate though Misaki's was a bit softer "Get back to work"

The three still stood in their spot looking at thier boss, irritating him even more "Now!" he barked and his agents scrambled to their respective desks as their boss fought back a smile

A couple of minutes later, the phone on Natsume's desk started ringing. He stopped typing and answered the phone  
"Hyuuga"

"Good morning, Special Agent Hyuuga" a deep venomous voice said. It sounded like it was pre-recorded. Knowing who it was, Natsume pressed the speaker button. He signaled Hayate to trace the phone call

"What do you want?"

The caller chuckled "What's with the slow investigation? I thought you'd usually have a lead right now. Shortage of a forensic staff with all the economic problem and such"

"That's none of your business" Natsume snarled. He could hear the man chuckle and his hands turned to fists, knuckles began turning white as the agent was getting angrier by the second

"You're right. It's none of my business so I'll just get straight to the point" the caller said "What runs but never walks, often murmurs but never talks, has a mouth but never eats, has a bed but never sleeps. What is it? Find out what it means and you'll get your next clue" before Natsume could even react, the call ended

"Hayate, did you trace the call?"

The young agent shook his head as he heaved a sigh and stopped typing "Sorry boss, I didn't get enough time to trace the call"

"Find out what the riddle means" Natsume ordered, clenching his jaw as he tried to control the anger inside of him. His cell phone began ringing "What?" he barked

"Um... If this is a bad time..."

The agent sighed and massaged his temple with his fingers, his voice began to softened though it was still gruff "What is it, Mikan?"

"I need you down at the lab. Found something interesting"

"Yeah, I'll be right down" the call ended he glanced at the three agents that were looking at him as he tapped the desk with his fingers "I want the answer to that riddle once I get back and Andou, get me a warrant for the vic's brother"

"Got it, boss"

* * *

Special Agent Hyuuga entered the lab and saw the busy forensic scientist that had her eyes glued to the monitor. He walked and stood very close to her, trying to see what kept getting her attention. A smirked formed his lips "What do you have for me, Mikan?" his deep husky voice had startled her, making the brunette jumped

"Geez, don't do that. I might end up getting a heart attack" she said before smiling "And I've got something for you . It's a bit weird how the results took less than an hour. Forty five minutes actually" she then turned around, facing the evidence table in the middle of the lab

"What do you have for me?" he repeated as he crossed his arms

The forensic scientist smiled once more before beginning her explanation but it kept bothering her why he has to be so impatient "I processed the bat that your agent found at the girlfriend's house and it's not a match to the pieces of wood from the vic's hair" she then took an evidence bag from the metal table containing the baseball bat "The blood isn't the vic's either. It's animal. Rat to be exact. I guess she used this to kill pests. I know how frustrating you can be-"

"Mikan" he said, trying to get her back to the case. It was quite odd that he didn't snap or barked. It was more how he would usually talk. He didn't talk at her as he usually would with any of the former forensic scientists. He felt a bit weird for doing so.

"Oh right, sorry about that. I also processed that small piece of shard from the victim's flesh and Luka was right. It was ceramic but not just any ceramic. It's one of the best ceramics in the world" she then walked back to the computer before typing a couple of things, a window popping up showing an array of knives "What you're looking for is a ceramic knife made with the finest material. There are only two companies that make these and the knife might be a bit irregular since the tip is broken" she stopped and smiled

His hot breath tickled her cheek as he stood close to her, looking at the screen. She could even feel his body heat radiating. Natsume nodded "Not bad for an Osaka forensic scientist" with that, he exited the lab but was shortly stopped by the offended forensic scientist. She had the urge to punch him but fought back.

"But I have more" she continued, hearing the beeping sound of the computer as she tried to ignore the comment and focus on the case. He walked backwards and stood beside her once again "When I said the ceramic was made from the finest, I mean it. I mean, not many can afford that type of utensil unless you have a good paycheck since you have to buy the whole set. I did some research and found out that there's only fifteen people bought it for the past six months in Tokyo since it came out six months ago. It's new" she began typing "I narrowed it down and we have..." a window popped up, showing a picture of the victim's brother "This guy"

Natsume's lips formed a small smile, satisfied with the amount of information she had given him. He couldn't believe she was this good and regretted his stupid comment earlier. Making a mental note to not make stupid comments unless necessary, he walked out of the lab "Thank you"

"You're welcome, Agent Grumpy" the forensic scientist mumbled once the doors of the elevator closed

* * *

Tsubasa and the rest gathered back in front of the monitor, trying to see what was happening down in the lab. They were very curious about what was going on. The three were quite impressed at the new forensic scientist. She was definitely fast and witty.

"Man, she's both smart and pretty. Maybe I should date her" Tsubasa began mumbling as he didn't even notice the glare Misaki was giving him "She's like a very nicer female version of boss" before he knew it, he felt someone head slapping him "Misaki! What was that for?" he exclaimed, rubbing the back of his head

"That was for day dreaming. Turn that off before Hyuuga finds out. You don't want to get another powerful head slap do you?" she then got back to her desk, followed by Hayate

Natsume came out of the elevator and entered the bull pen "Andou! Get me a search warrant for the vic's brother that I asked for" the young agent nodded and searched for the warrant issued "Found out what the riddle means?" he questioned the rest of the team

Before his team could give their excuse of not figuring out the riddle, Luka interrupted as he stood in front of Natsume's desk "River" he pointed out "The killer wants us to look for a river. I'm guessing that he's trying to point out we have another body"

Natsume glanced at the medical examiner then the rest of his team "Which river? It could be anywhere, Luka"

"Judging from the pattern of the killer, he could have easily dumped the body near the crime scene or an area under the Naval Agency's jurisdiction"

The phone on Natsume's desk rang and silence filled the air. He glanced at the agent sitting opposite of him who nodded, ready to trace the call. Without a moment to lose, the agent answered the phone "Hyuuga... Yeah..." he ended the call, running a hand over his raven hair "Dead body at a river in Shibuya. Hayate, Tsubasa. Go there. Misaki, you're with me"

The agents took out their badges and guns gearing up for their tasks. Natsume snatched the warrant from Tsubasa's hand before entering the elevator with Misaki right behind him

* * *

Special Agent Andou and Special Agent Matsudaira reached their destination within twenty minutes. They could see a dead body lying motionless beside the river

"Man, the smell really stinks" Tsubasa commented, taking off his black cap and fanning it as he approached the victim who was facing the muddy ground. He put his cap on and raised the black DSLR in his hands and began taking photos of the victim.

Luka shortly came and slowly approached the victim. He did the standard procedures in less than a twenty minutes before turning the victim around but was distracted by Hayate who had found the victim's wallet not to far away

"Found his wallet" the agent said, holding the evidence in his gloved hand. He then opened the wallet and searched for the victim's ID while Luka turned the victim around noticing a very big wound to his neck and multiple scratches on his face

* * *

Natsume and Misaki came out of the vehicle before walking toward the single story house. He knocked on the door "Federal agents. Please open the door"

It was a couple of moments later when the door opened. A woman in her mid forties had a puzzled look on her face seeing who was at her front door "Agent Hyuuga, what brings you here?"

He took out the warrant from his suit and gave it to the woman "We need to search your house Mrs Hirukawa" both agents entered the house, passing through the shocked housewife and they began searching for the kitchen

Natsume motioned for Misaki to search for the knife as they had discovered the huge kitchen. He then focused his attention at the housewife as the woman began asking questions "What is going on Agent Hyuuga?"

"We think your husband might be involved with your brother-in-law's death. Where is he?"

The woman was silent for a moment, eyes filled with fear "He said he was going to go and meet someone. I don't know who. He wouldn't tell me" she was in a state of both shock and panic "That was about three hours ago and he was acting strange too"

"I found the murder weapon" Misaki came out of the kitchen with an irregular shaped ceramic knife in her white gloved hand. The tip was definitely missing

"Where is your husband, Mrs Hirukawa?" Natsume asked again. He doesn't have time to play games and wants nothing more than to capture the killer, ending this game of cat and mouse once and for all.

* * *

Back at the crime scene, Hayate had managed to find the victim's ID hidden in a secret part of the wallet and was shocked to find out who it was. He couldn't even hear what Luka was explaining

"Hayate, are you alright?"

Tsubasa who had been taking crime scene photos, stopped as he noticed the pale look his friend had "Yeah, Hayate. Cat got your tongue?" he felt like bursting into a fit of laughter but fought back, noticing the serious look on both of his co-workers' faces

The agent shook his head, trying to get a hold of himself "Uh... I know the victim" he then decided to take a closer look at the dead body "I knew he looked familiar"

Luka arched an eyebrow "Who?"

"The victim's brother"

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**Like the cliffhanger? TEEHEE! Thanks for reading.**


	4. One Shot, One Kill

**Truth to be told, I've got nothing much to say except that I changed the rating from K+ to T since well, like I said, this is just like NCIS and well, the fanfic is going to be filled with DB (Dead Bodies and other things) so I don't really think it's appropriate for kids unless you've watched CSI and other crime dramas ever since you were a kid like me. So anyway, I'd like to thank the anonymous reviewer Anon as well for the positive feedback. Here's chapter 4 of Singled Out.**

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**

"The victim's brother?" Luka uttered, taking a moment to examine the dead body "This is much more serious than I thought"

"Alright. None of us is going to fret or whatsoever. We're just going to focus on the case. Find anything else, Hayate?" Tsubasa said as he tried to change the subject.

"I'll try to find more evidence" he said and went back to work in search for more clues outside of the crime scene area.

"Luka, what about you? Find anything?" he asked and knelt beside the dead body, noticing the puzzled look on the medical examiner's face "You can pretend I'm Hyuuga" he pointed out and deepened his voice "What do you have, Luka?"

The medical examiner couldn't help but chuckle. Tsubasa had always tried to act as a leader if Natsume wasn't around "Works for me. Slash wound to the neck was the cause of death. I took his body temperature but it won't be accurate since the body has been in the river so time of death is approximately one to two hours ago. Multiple scratches on the face and hands show signs of struggle though some of the wounds on his face are old. I also collected some DNA under his fingernails and have Mikan process it"

"Thanks, Luka" The agent imitated his boss' style before taking out the ringing phone out of his pocket "This is Special Agent Hyuuga"

"Andou!" the caller barked, loud enough for the medical examiner to hear it.

"Boss! No I wasn't imitating you... It may seem like I said Hyuuga but... Yes boss... Sorry boss... Won't happen again, boss" he assured and head slapped himself "Yes boss, I head slapped myself... Thank you boss and the victim is the victim's brother... Yes boss. On it boss" the call ended and Tsubasa stowed the phone back into his pocket.

"What did Natsume say?" medical examiner questioned as he stood up from the ground.

"Hyuuga said that the victim had been out for three hours and they found the murder weapon. The only problem is, our suspect is dead and told us to process the crime scene as soon as possible" the agent explained , trying to look for his friend "Where did Hayate go anyway?"

"I'm right here!" the young agent replied from a bridge not too far away from the crime scene "Found his car"

Tsubasa left the medical examiner to continue to do his work and walked towards the abandoned silver Mercedes. The driver door was left open and a ceramic knife similar to the one from the previous case lay beside the front wheel. He saw Hayate standing in front of the vehicle.

"I'm guessing the killer met the victim and killed him here. There's a trail of blood on the pavement and the handrail. He tossed the dead body here from the bridge" Hayate explained.

"Examine the vehicle, Matsudaira" Agent Andou ordered, imitating as Natsume once more. He couldn't help it since it was such a fun thing to do. Not to mention bossing your co-workers around.

Hayate scoffed "Who do you think you are? Hyuuga?"

"I'm the boss when Hyuuga's not around" he claimed with a proud look on his face, earning a chuckle from Hayate "The great unnoticed boss is the boss when the real boss isn't around"

"Too bad the boss is here. Didn't I tell you to stop imitating me, Andou?" Natsume said as he stood behind a startled and nervous Tsubasa. The young agent could see Misaki grinning, trying not to laugh from the corners of his eyes.

"Yes you did boss. I promise I won't copy you ever again even if you're not here"

"Good. Get that inside your head and you'll survive" Natsume said and took off his black cap before head slapping the young agent with it and putting it back on "What do we have?"

Hayate then began explaining "Well, the victim was killed once he got out of his car since there's blood spatter all over it and he was dragged and tossed into the river. I haven't check the inside of the car though" once he was finished, his boss stared at him "Oh right, I'll process the car right now" he then started doing his work, followed by Tsubasa and Misaki.

Natsume on the other hand, headed for the other side where the dead body was being examined by Luka "Ah yes, Natsume. I didn't know you could get here so fast"

The agent's lips played a small smile "It wasn't that far away from the victim's house so what do you have?"

"Well, for certain, this guy died because of the slash wound to the neck. It instantly killed him. Traces of DNA under his fingernails, some fresh scars to the left side of his face. I'm guessing that he was dodging the first attack. Blood on his knuckles. He may have had a good hit on our killer. That's the only thing I can tell right now until I'm done doing a full autopsy on the victim"

Natsume nodded with a simple "Thanks" before heading back to his car, finding the nearest coffee shop to buy some coffee.

* * *

The very next day, after Luka had done a full autopsy on the victim, the ping sound of the elevator was heard and the doors split into two, revealing a scowling Natsume with his arms crossed.

He entered the autopsy room and walked towards the medical examiner, standing opposite of him "What do you have?"

The medical examiner was silent for a moment. He looked at the agent before beginning his explanation "The knife used to kill this man did not only slashed the neck but instantly cut both the artery and vein of the neck, instantly cutting the blood supply. That was the main cause of death" he then stopped and looked at the agent once more

"That's all Luka? You've been staring me like that ever since I got here. Something else you want to tell me?" Natsume crossed his arms and waited for the medical examiner to say something.

"Actually, there's one more thing I haven't told the rest of the team or you" Luka said and took an evidence bag containing a piece of paper beside the autopsy table "This might be a bit personal though" he warned and handed the evidence to the agent.

His friend stared at him before looking at the evidence and Natsume froze as soon as his brain processed the two words that were written on the small piece of paper _'South Korea'_

Natsume stood in his spot, not moving even an inch as flashbacks began playing in his mind. He blinked his eyes a couple of times as the memories started haunting him.

* * *

He cradled the Heckler-Koch PSG-1 in his arms as he laid himself on the rooftop of a tall building. His right eye focused on the target two blocks away. Sweat trickled down his face as the heat began getting hotter and hotter due to his camouflage as well.

He breathed in, breathed out over and over again, focusing on his target, making sure he'll hit him. His finger was millimeters away from the trigger.

Natsume's target was a man seated beside a window, having his tea with a friend. The man had short black hair and eyes that could frighten any child. Natsume took another deep breath as a single tear rolled down his cheek. The man was going to die for what he had done to his family. He could still remember the look on his wife and son's face as they both died in his arms. His family was murdered and so he decided to chase the felony that fled to South Korea.

As Natsume waited for the right moment to strike, more tears came out and his eyes began to swell. He took another deep breath as the man only identified as Kuonji, took another sip of his tea. He released his breath and pulled the trigger. The bullet headed straight for the man. The 7.62 mm round penetrated through the glass like a hot knife through butter and into the frontal lobe of the target, killing him instantly, blood splattered everywhere. One shot, one kill.

Natsume turned around and screamed as he released the pain that had been clinging to him ever since the death of his family. Kuonji deserved to die for what he had done.

* * *

"Natsume? Natsume? Are you alright?" Luka called out as his friend had been spacing out for quite a while ever since he took the evidence.

The agent snapped back to reality and looked at the medical examiner with a paled look "Yeah... I'm... I..." he was speechless and ran a hand over his raven hair "I need to get some coffee" he said and tossed the evidence to Luka before walking out of the lab in hopes of clearing his mind.

As soon as Natsume was gone, Luka sighed and slumped down on his swiveling chair before putting aside the evidence. He shouldn't have shown it to him and decided to make a quick visit to Natsume's house once work is over if the latter ever returns home that is. He never felt so worried ever since the death of Natsume's wife and son.

* * *

The evidence quickly reached Mikan's lab ten minutes after the team got back yesterday but it was late and so she decided to process the evidence by today and the forensic scientist instantly started processing all the evidence once she started all the machines. It was three hours later when she had finally managed to do so and now, all she had to do or more specifically, all Agent Cranky had to do was wait.

She heard the ping sound of the elevator and smiled, knowing who it was and turned away from the computer "Hyuuga! Just the man I was looking for!" she said with a smile but it soon faded by the scowl on his handsome face.

"Hurry up and tell me what you have" he ordered and crossed his arms, waiting for her to begin her discovery.

Mikan's brows furrowed and she scowled back at him before beginning her explanation "I compared the DNA found from the first victim, the one under his fingernails with the second one and it's not a match. I then ran the fingerprints from the broken ceramic knife and it's not a match to the second victim's fingerprints. Sasuke Hirukawa did not kill his brother but I did find blood on the knife. I'm currently running the fingerprints on AFIS so you'll have to wait for a while" she stopped for a second to take a breathe.

The forensic scientist then walked towards the evidence table. There was the broken ceramic knife, the other one beside from car and a white cloth "First come first serve. The ceramic knife. These two knives are the same. They're made by the same company except that the broken one is used for the first victim and the second one is used to kill the second and the fingerprints might be the same. Like I said, AFIS is running them. As for the white cloth found under the car, it contains chloroform"

Natsume arched an eyebrow as he stood closer to her to get a good look at the evidence "Chloroform?"

"Chloroform is usually used for anesthetic to make people drowsy so that they'll eventually go to sleep. Commonly used by doctors for painful operations and by kidnappers to make the victim unconscious. I'm guessing the killer tried to make him drowsy but failed" after her explanation was done, the computer started beeping and both turned around.

"The result is in for the fingerprints" she typed a couple of things, a window popping up and both were shocked to see that there was no match on the fingerprints but they did match on both murder weapons "We don't have match on AFIS. What about the wife? Did she tell you anything? I mean she could have at least touch it"

The agent beside her thought for a moment. He had interviewed her before and asked her why was the tip broken "She told me that she had never even used or even seen that knife before. She said she only uses the metal ones"

The computer started beeping again and another window popped up. The forensic scientist smiled "I have more about the cloth. It doesn't only contain chloroform but it contains a very small amount of heroin. Whoever the killer is, he's either a drug dealer or a drug addict" she said and noticed the paled look on Natsume's face "Hyuuga? Are you okay? You seemed kind of spaced out" her voice was full of concern.

The agent blinked twice and shook his head "I'm fine. Just tired"

"Don't lie to me Hyuuga. I know when someone's lying. They don't just freeze for no reason. It has to be triggered by something" her brows furrowed once more seeing his face getting paler and paler. She was beginning to get worried "Are you sure you're fine"

"Yes" his reply was loud and clear and he clenched his jaw. He blinked a couple of times, trying to shake off the painful memories of his family but they keep coming back ever since he read the paper from autopsy.

"Hyuuga, you're sweating"

"I'm fine" he snapped and walked out of the lab, leaving a very concerned Mikan. Eventhough she had only known him for a couple of days, she couldn't help but feel this tension between them whenever they were close. He was definitely something different altogether.

* * *

As soon as work ended, she turned off all the equipment, saying good night to each and every one of them. Although some may think she's mad, it's just her way of showing how much she loves science and they'll somewhat function better too since they were used properly but she did miss her own team and lab in Osaka. She took her coat and turned off the lights before walking out of the lab and into the elevator.

She decided to make a quick visit to the bullpen to meet her new team. She had heard so much from them from Luka and Hotaru. She strode into the bullpen and saw three people sitting in their desks, doing their work until Tsubasa saw her.

"You're Mikan Sakura right?" he asked and got off his chair before walking towards her "I'm Very Special Agent Tsubasa Andou but people usually call me Tsubasa but since on you're on the Andou special list-" before he could even continue, both Hayate and Misaki head slapped him, silencing the agent.

"I'm so sorry about that. He's mentally deranged. I'm Misaki Harada by the way. It's nice to finally meet you, Miss Sakura" the female agent said and shook hands with the forensic scientist.

Mikan smiled "Just call me Mikan. Nice to meet you too, Misaki"

Hayate then introduced himself as he shook hands with Mikan "I'm Hayate Matsudaira and call me Hayate. I'm the I.T specialist for the team. It's good to have you on the team and you're one amazing forensic scientist"

Mikan's small got wider by the comment "Thank you" she then glanced at the empty desk opposite of Hayate's "But where's Hyuuga? Did he go home?"

Tsubasa arched an eyebrow "Actually, he's usually out to get coffee. He'll be back soon. Why?"

The brunette was silent for a moment "Well, he was acting weird just this morning and cranky too" she explained.

The three agents exchange looks "He's like that sometimes. He has mood swings" Hayate replied "Sometimes he's in a good mood and sometimes he's cranky. It's how workaholics are" he then paused, glancing at his back to see if his boss was behind him but luckily he wasn't "That's Hyuuga for you"

Mikan nodded and smiled once more "Well, if you say so. It was nice meeting you guys. See you tomorrow! Good night"

"Night!" the three agents replied.

As soon as the forensic scientist was gone, the three gathered at Hayate's desk as they tried to find out more information about Mikan.

"Let's see here... She's a graduate from Oxford University. Has a degree in Forensic Science and Criminology. Lives in Osaka with her uncle, Director Kazu Yukihira..." Hayate was speechless for a while. Her uncle is the Director at the Osaka Naval Agency! It was no wonder that she looked familiar.

"Well, what are you waiting for? We need more info on her" demanded Tsubasa.

"Will you please be patient. Well, it says here she's 34"

Tsubasa's jaw dropped "34?" he said in disbelief "She's like 5 years younger than Hyuuga and 6 years older than me and Misaki and a year younger than you!"

"Too bad you can't date her, Tsubasa but we have one eligible to date her minus Hayate" Misaki said, earning a fake offended look from Hayate "Hyuuga"

"But Hyuuga only dates green eyed women and a year younger than him. Mikan has brown eyes and she's 5 years younger than boss. That's 5 times than the requirement of age!" Tsubasa argued.

"Just when did I give you permission to sneak into other people's files?" Director Imai questioned the three agents.

"Director Imai! We were just checking to see if she's safe and not some kind of spy" Hayate explained and mentally slapped himself for coming up with such a lame excuse "Right guys?"

"Yeah"

"Absolutely"

Hotaru stared at the three agents and rolled her eyes "Get some shut eyes. The three of you. Hyuuga's been pushing you too hard"

"Are you sure Madame Director?" Misaki asked.

Her only reply was a simple nod "Do it fast before I change my mind. Every one deserves a good night's rest including the three of you and I'll inform the stubborn head"

The three agents smiled and packed their belongings as quick as possible before thanking her. They got out of the building as if it was on fire and drove back home.

* * *

**End of chapter 4. Yes, Hotaru has been missing out a lot but don't worry. She hasn't been missing anything. Trust me. **


	5. Stolen

**Chapter 5 is here! I noticed some of you guys were quite shocked that most of the characters are in their late thirties and twenties. A lot said the same thing 'They're old' Lol. Well, that's a fact minus the 'old fact' since mid and late thirties aren't that old but I understand that most of you are used to having the characters in their teens and twenties. So yeah, I'm just here to point out I know what I'm doing. Now let's read chapter 5.**

******__****_It's better to seek forgiveness than ask permission- Leroy Jethro Gibbs_**

**

* * *

**

Special Agent Natsume Hyuuga strode into the empty bullpen only to discover three of his agents missing. He set aside his coffee on his desk and looked up to see the Director straight at him on the balcony.

"Where the hell are my agents, Imai?" he questioned with a scowl on his handsome face.

She slowly walked down the stairs "I sent them home. They've been working hard and deserve some rest" she then walked towards the agent, standing a couple of feet away from him "This case is slowly affecting you, Hyuuga. I don't know what happened in South Korea but whoever is after you is trying to slowly torture you"

Natsume made a mocking smile "What's your point? I can't handle this case? I can't face my past?"

"Luka told me what happened down in autopsy this morning. It's obvious you're affected. You've been acting weird ever since he gave you the evidence"

Natsume crossed his arms, trying to make himself look calm and collected "You got it all wrong if you think I can't handle this case and what happened in South Korea is none of your business" he snarled as the agent's face darkened

Hotaru glared at the agent in front of her "Listen here you ego-centric stubborn head, you may sound calm but your body language tells a different story and it may not be my business but you're an asset to the agency. Anything that happens to any one of you, I will be held responsible. You're lucky your father is resigned or he would have taken you off the case"

Natsume made another mocking smile before stiffening "Whatever you say, Director Imai" with that, he took his coffee and headed for the elevator, retreating home as well.

* * *

Special Agent Tsubasa Andou stepped stepped out of the elevator with a pair of headphones stuck to his ear and he began to sing as he strode into the bullpen "Well you can tell by the way I walk I'm a women's man..." he ignored the looks people were giving and continued singing "Stayin' alive, stayin' alive, stayin' alive"

He grinned at Misaki as she gave him a look too but it soon faded as he saw his boss staring at him with a glare. He took off his white earphones and made a nervous smile before taking his seat "Morning boss" the agent then glared at the snickering Hayate who couldn't help but grin

"You dying, Andou?"

The agent opened his mouth but no words came out until his boss looked somewhere else "No boss. It's just that the song's really catchy and all-" he was shortly cut by the ringing phone on Natsume's desk

"Hyuuga" Natsume answered but his eyes never left the monitor "Yeah... Thanks" he put the phone down before getting off his chair "Dead marine at Ikebukuro" he announced to his team before taking his badge and gun, followed by the others and the four then headed for the elevator.

* * *

Natsume stood beside Luka as the medical examiner began his work while Misaki took photos of the victim. The agent looked around while waiting for his usual briefing. He decided to close his eyes just for a split second as he felt sleepy. He didn't get much sleep as he was kept awake by nightmares.

"Natsume, are you sleeping?" his friend asked with concern.

The agent opened his eyes and stared the medical examiner "No. Just sleepy. What do you have?"

"Cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the chest, hitting the right hand side of the lungs. The bullet is still in there. It could be a 9 mil. I'll send it up to Mikan once autopsy is done" the medical examiner explained

Natsume nodded "Thanks Luka" he then approached Tsubasa who had just finished taking statements from two witnesses "Talk to me, Andou"

"Well, the witness said she heard a gunshot at seven this morning in the alley and so she decided to take a look from her front window only to find the victim lying in the middle of the road. She didn't see the killer though"

Natsume glanced at the first witness "What about the second one?"

"Second one said that he saw a man about six feet tall dumping something beside the dumpster and running off after two gunshots were heard"

Hayate who had been at alley, walked back to the crime scene with an evidence bag in his hand containing a gun. He approached his boss "I found a revolver next to the dumpster. It could be the murder weapon and one bullet from the round is missing"

Natsume arched an eyebrow "One? Witness said he heard two. Victim died with a single gunshot to the chest. There's another gun. Find it" Hayate nodded and resumed his work "Andou, go find the other weapon"

Natsume did the same as well and it was twenty minutes later when he discovered another pistol behind a couple of trashes. He unloaded the magazine. Two bullets were missing. One was probably in the gun but the other was obviously fired.

"You found the gun, boss?" Hayate asked, noticing the SIG that his boss had in his hands

The boss nodded as he unloaded the gun "Yeah, it's a 9 mil. Send it to Mikan once you get back" he ordered and put the gun into the evidence bag before giving it to his agent

"Sure thing boss"

* * *

The ping sound of the elevator was heard and Special Agent Natsume Hyuuga stepped out of it as the doors split into two. He entered the autopsy room and saw the medical examiner leaning against an empty autopsy table . Natsume raised a brow.

"Well, I've been waiting for your arrival for ten minutes. You're usually on time. What happened?" Luka questioned as he pushed himself from the autopsy table

The agent shrugged "I ran out of coffee. What do you have?"

Luka couldn't help but grin "Coffee addict" he muttered before beginning his explanation "I took the bullet out of the victim and it was surprisingly deep. I sent the bullet up to Mikan. It had not only penetrated the lung but the ribs as well which explains why his chest looks a bit deformed and the victim could have been suffocating. Whoever shot him could have at least been twenty feet from him judging by the gunshot wound. Probably on the other side of the street"

Natsume nodded and said thanks to the medical examiner before walking out of the autopsy and entered the elevator

* * *

Mikan Sakura who was had herself occupied to the monitor in front of her smiled as she could hear the ping sound of the elevator. She had calculated for Hyuuga to show up fifteen minutes ago but it would seem he was late.

"Hyuuga!" she exclaimed, turning away from the computer as she was eager to tell him about her discovery

"What do you have?" he questioned as he looks to be calmer than yesterday. What the forensic scientist didn't notice was that the agent was holding something on his right hand. More like he was trying to conceal it from her

"SIG, revolver, iPod, cellphone, wallet, keys and an empty iPod case" she informed him and walked towards the evidence table

"What can you tell me about the SIG" he asked as he glanced at the evidence

"One thing for sure, this is the murder weapon" Mikan explained, showing him the SIG before walking back to the computer "I ran the bullet found inside the victim with the bullet from the SIG and it's a match"

The agent stared at the 32 inch monitor that was hanging on the wall instead of looking at the small one that was showing off the result for a couple of seconds "What about the revolver?"

The brunette's brows furrowed "The revolver is still a mystery. I mean, there's one bullet missing. The victim could have had a good hit on our suspect or he could have missed and hit something"

"You're telling me I should go back at the crime scene and find that missing bullet?" he replied

As she opened her mouth to say something, the computer started beeping. A new window popped up "The SIG was registered to Lance Corporal Hibino and as for the revolver, our dead man, Sergeant Aihara and the fingerprints from SIG matches Lance Corporal Hibino and revolver matches our vic. There were no other prints"

Natsume nodded and was ready to walk out of the lab but he was quickly stopped by the forensic scientist. He turned around and walked back to the evidence table

Mikan then began her explanation and took the iPod and case "When I told you I found an empty iPod case, it was empty. The iPod wasn't in it. Don't you think it's weird? The one the sergeant had was a different model and the case is for a different type, Hyuuga"

"There's something important in the iPod" Natsume muttered before nodding and he gave Mikan a medium sized pink box "Thanks, Mikan" he said and strode out of the lab and into the elevator, earning a confused look from the forensic scientist.

The scientist raised a brow and opened the pink box revealing cotton candy or known to Mikan as 'Fluff Puffs'. She couldn't help but smile and made a mental note to thank Hyuuga later.

* * *

Special Agent Tsubasa Andou stared at the screen that was displaying the profile of their current victim "Don't you think it's weird how this guy just showed up dead in the wee hours of morning on the road. What was he doing anyway?" he questioned at his two fellow friends that were occupied with their work

"That's what we're trying to figure out, Andou" Natsume said as he strode into the bullpen with a coffee at one hand "What do we have?"

"Vicitm name's is Sergeant Rei Aihara. He's been a marine for 3 years. Lives at Ikebukuro. Parents are deceased" Tsubasa explained

Misaki got off her chair and stood beside Tsubasa before snatching the remote from his hand "Not only that but he was charged with DUI and was also charged with assault on another marine, Sergeant Daisuki"

Natsume took a sip of his coffee as Hayate got off his chair and started his explanation "I ran his credit card and bank records. Someone deposited a quarter of a million dollars to his account. Remote please, Misaki" he took the remote from her and pressed a button where another window popped out showing the victim's bank records "Someone was paying him for something"

"More like the missing iPod" the agent took another sip of his coffee before barking orders "Hayate, Misaki. Go back to the crime scene and find the missing bullet for the revolver. Andou, bring Lance Corporal Hibino in"

* * *

Special Agent Hayate Matsudaira and Special Agent Harada stepped out of the black SUV that was parked a couple of meters away from the crime scene. Misaki took out the evidence kit at the back and both headed toward the empty alley

"How are we supposed to find the bullet? This alley is huge!" Hayate said and wore his gloves, followed by Misaki

"Well, Mikan said that if our victim missed his target, the bullet could have been reflected to a wall" the agent explained as she began looking around for the bullet

Hayate shrugged "Wall it is then"

It was about thirty minutes later when Hayate discovered the missing bullet that was stuck inside a brick wall "Found the bullet" he informed his partner and took out a pair of tweezers from the evidence kit before taking out the bullet

Misaki flahsed her flashlight at the bullet and noticed that there was blood on it "I can see a small trace of blood on the bullet"

"Yeah, I can see it too. I'll send it to Mikan" he said and put it inside a small plastic container "Speaking of Mikan, did you notice that boss took something out from his drawer before going to the lab. I think it was a pink box"

Misaki arched an eyebrow before recalling the event "Yeah, he was holding a pink box. It's probably something we shouldn't be nosy about but you make it sound tempting and the box does look familiar"

"What do you think it is?"

"Something we shouldn't be nosy about. It could get worse if Tsubasa found out. He won't keep his mouth shut"

* * *

Lance Corporal Hibino stared at the mirror in front of him in the interrogation room as he waited for an agent to question him. The door swung open revealing Natsume as he walked in with a file in one hand and took his seat opposite of the suspect.

On the other hand, Special Agent Andou stared at the two via window from the Observation Room. Eager to see how his boss would handle the suspect. He then glanced towards the opening door, revealing his two co-workers "Hey guys! You're just in time to witness the Hyuuga Interrogation"

The two agents grinned and stood in front of the mirror "Did we miss anything?" Hayate questioned

"No. He's about to start"

"Who's going to get the popcorn?" Misaki asked and all three agents exchanged looks before pointing at one another as they started bickering.

"Can you please tell me why the heck am I here, Agent Hyuuga?" Lance Corporal Hibino questioned and crossed his arms

"You're here because we found your weapon at a crime scene" Natsume replied as he took out a photo of the SIG from the file "This was registered to you"

The corporal snorted and he shoved the picture away "I lost it a couple of days ago. Anybody could have took it"

Natsume then took out a photo of the victim and shoved it towards the suspect "You recognize him? He's our dead guy and the bullet from the victim matches your gun"

The suspect took the photo as his eyes widen "This is Sergeant Aihara. How... When did this happen?" he asked, startled that his friend was dead

"He was found dead this morning with a single gunshot to the chest. Where were you between six to seven am today?"

"I was at home and no, no one can confirm that because my wife and kids are spending their weekend at my mother-in-law's house"

"That puts you perfectly at the-" before Natsume could question further the suspect, the door of the interrogation room swung open revealing a woman in her mid thirties. She walked in carrying a brief case and her clothing style made her look like a lawyer

"I really do think this isn't the way to interrogate my client, Agent Hyuuga" the woman said and glanced at her client "If you would be so kind, please refrain from speaking"

"Miss Koizumi" Natsume hissed as he tried to suppress a growl "I didn't know you're representing him"

"Well, I am and you have no rights to hold him if you're not going to charge him, Agent Hyuuga" the lawyer said and put her brief case, waiting for the agent to say something "Mr Hibino is free to go am I right?"

Special Agent Natsume kept his mouth shut as he headed for the door and opened it "Yeah. He's free to go"

Lance Corporal Hibino stood up with a smirk and walked out of the interrogation room, saying thanks to his lawyer in the process but before Luna could even get out, Natsume slammed the door shut and glared at her and she did the same thing without showing any fear.

"I thought you're supposed to be at Washington"

"And I thought you were suppose to stop harassing your suspects. Listen here Agent Hyuuga, I have a lot to do so please let me out" she fought back and waited for him to open the door  
"Thank you"

"You're welcome" he replied mockingly

Meanwhile, back at the Observation Room, the three stunned agents couldn't believe what happened. The interrogation was intervened yet again by Luna Koizumi, the pain in the neck lawyer as referred to by their boss.

"Aww man! We were just getting to the good part but the whole interrupting Hyuuga thing was good too" Hayate uttered as the rest nodded

* * *

The clock on the wall showed that it was ten o'clock and most agents have gone back home except for Special Agent Hyuuga. He had decided to stay as he had to catch up with a lot of paperwork plus, his home was nothing more than a dull, boring and painful place to be.

He then heard the ping sound of the elevator and was surprised to see Mikan walking out of it who noticed that he was still in the bullpen "Hyuuga? What are you doing here at this time of hour?"

"Same goes for you"

Mikan rolled her eyes "I needed to finish my work before retreating back home and I came here to say thanks for the Fluff Puffs. How'd you know I like them?"

Natsume simply shrugged "Saw you at the cafe yesterday. You were buying two of them"

"You were stalking me?" she joked and chuckled but it soon stopped as Natsume's face darkened "That was just a joke"

"I know"

She then smiled at the agent "Thanks for the Fluff Puffs once again, Hyuuga but what was it for anyway?"

He stared at her for a moment before shrugging once again "It's better to seek forgiveness than ask for it"

"You could have just said sorry instead of going through all the trouble buying me Fluff Puffs" she pointed out

"I don't say it unless necessary"

Mikan's brows furrowed at his reply. Well, she was definitely right that he's slightly different than other people she have met "Okay... See you tomorrow, Hyuuga" she said cheerfully and flashed a smile at him.

"Yeah" he replied and he focused his attention back at the computer but he couldn't help but watch her from the corner of his eyes before completely giving full attention towards his work.

* * *

**End of chapter 5. Yes, Luna Koizumi made her appearance. She kinda reminds me of MAllison Hart from NCIS in this fic that is. The lawyer that Gibbs hates. So anyway, thanks for reading and for those who are wondering what Tsubasa sang, it's Stayin' Alive by Bee Gees. Oh yeah, one more thing, which would you prefer? Natsume doing wood working or painting?**


	6. Sniper Round

**For those who noticed, I changed Hayate's age. He is now a couple of years older. Well, 5 to be exact since I'm preparing him for something special. I would like to thank anonymous reviewers: unknownred, Just a random girl and smile for the suggestions and positive feedbacks. Got nothing more to say so go straight ahead to reading chapter 6! But before that, here's a little quote I find interesting.**

**Did you know I could kill you without leaving a single forensic evidence?- Abby Sciuto**

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"Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock, tick tock"

Hayate who was busy doing his work was shortly distracted by his co-worker who wouldn't stop acting like an idiot. His left eye twitched. It was a perfectly beautiful Monday morning until Tsubasa started irritating him. The agent wished that Misaki would be here but sadly, she isn't here "Will you stop doing that!" he snapped at Tsubasa

The agent immediately stopped and threw him a look "What? I'm bored"

"Do something else. I have work"

Tsubasa shrugged "Fine Agent MatCranky" the agent then look around the bullpen to see if Misaki had arrived. He took a piece of paper from the fax machine, scrunched it up and threw it at Hayate and burst into a fit of laughter, seeing the irritated look on his face. The agent ignored him and continued to do his work until Tsubasa tossed another paper, aiming for the trash can beside Hayate's desk but missed. He scrunched another paper and threw it, followed by another and another until his co-worker couldn't take it anymore.

Hayate dodge the incoming paper and shot a glare at the agent "I mean it, Tsubasa. Go play somewhere else. I've got work to do"

The agent frowned "What are you working on anyway?"

Hayate sighed "I'm trying to hack into the iPod that we found yesterday but it has some kind of encrypted code that would make National Security proud"

"Aww... Poor Hayate. I'm sure you'll get it eventually" Tsubasa said as his voice was full of sarcasm

Hayate's computer beeped as it made the agent smile and smirked at his co-worker "I got it. In your face, Andou" he then got off his chair and disconnected the iPod before heading towards the elevator, leaving an annoyed and bored Tsubasa

* * *

Special Agent Matsudaira stepped out of the elevator and into the lab where the forensic scientist was occupied with her work "Hey Mikan" he greeted

The brunette who had her eyes glued to the monitor turned away to face the agent "Hey yourself. Please tell me you managed to crack the code"

He smiled and gave her the iPod making the brunette smile "Thank you!" she then walked towards the computer and connected the media player. Soon, the monitor was filled with windows showing off information

The forensic scientist frowned "It's empty" she stated and the agent that was looking through the evidence on the table turned away to face her

"Empty? I thought I hacked it"

"You did but it's empty. There are no files or whatsoever. Nothing"

"The victim was probably using that as a fake" Natsume interrupted as he strode into the lab with another pink box in his left hand

Mikan then thought for a while "If Sergeant Aihara wanted trick the suspect, how'd he know the empty one was the fake?"

"Someone who know's about the media player?" Hayate suggested, earning a smile from the forensic scientist "He was probably using the fake to make it look like it's the real one but why are the two iPods different?"

Natsume then glanced at the monitor which was showing off the properties of the media player "The one that was supposedly to look like the fake is the real one and the one that was supposed to look real is a decoy"

"But our suspect ended up getting the fake one which is actually the real one" Mikan ended the theory "So whoever the suspect is, he must have known about the iPod"

Special Agent Hyuuga nodded "Good work, Mikan" he said before he gave her the pink box containing Fluff Puffs and walked out of the lab. He pressed the button for the elevator and looked over his shoulder with a smirk before stepping inside it as he heard something about Hayate helping

"Hayate helped too you know!"

As soon as the doors of the elevator closed, Hayate stared at the forensic scientist with smirk "So what's in the pink box"

"Fluff Puffs" she innocently replied and offered him one but he declined

"You do realize that this will soon become a routine?"

Mikan swallowed the candy "No it's not. I won't be here for long" she then set the box aside "Once this case is over, I'll be going back to Osaka. Like I said, I'm just your temporary forensic scientist" she pointed out with a sad tone "But I like it here. Fluff Puffs in Tokyo have a better taste"

The agent chuckled at her remark "Glad you're enjoying Tokyo but you're a really good forensic scientist"

The brunette's face immediately lit up and she gave him a smile "Thanks"

* * *

Special Agent Misaki Harada stepped out of the elevator and walked into the bullpen and arched an eyebrow as Tsubasa had a bored expression on his face as his eyes were glued to the monitor "Tsubasa?" she called but he didn't hear her "Tsubasa!"

As soon as he heard Misaki's voice, he snapped out and looked at her and whined "What?"

"You were day dreaming. What are you watching anyway?" she questioned and approached his desk but the agent quickly stopped her

"It's nothing you should be concerned about" he stated nervously and shield the monitor from Misaki's view "It's a guy thing"

Misaki snorted "A guy thing. What made it so embarrassed to show it to other people?" she tried to push him aside but he kept shielding the monitor.

She gave him a look and turned away making Tsubasa move from the monitor and she took the chance to see what had occupied had occupied the agent. As soon as she saw what was on the screen, Misaki clasped her mouth, trying not to laugh

"Oh come on! It's not funny!" Tsubasa complained and slumped on his chair

Misaki giggled "Yeah, it's definitely a guy thing. Why didn't tell me you were watching that new Ultraman movie?"

"People say I'm too old for Ultraman. Even you're laughing. New movie's pretty awesome though. New Ultraman and new villain"

"You're too old for your childish attitude, Andou" Natsume stated as he strode into the bullpen with a cup of coffee in his hand

"Morning boss" both agents greeted

He silently nodded and set his coffee aside before ordering his two agents "Bring in Sergeant Daisuki. Both of you. Go. Now" he then took a sticky pad and a pen before scribbling something before giving it to Misaki "Here's the address"

Both agents nodded and geared up before walking towards the elevator. It was moments later when Natsume's phone started ringing. He quickly answered it "Hyuuga"

"Top of the morning, Agent Hyuuga"

The agent mentally cursed at the caller . He just had to ruin a perfect day "What?" he snapped

"My my. Grumpy aren't we? I've been laying low for two days but I decided to continue our little game if you don't mind"

Natsume clenched his jaw, irritated by the caller "What the heck do you want?" he could have sworn the caller smiled

"Simple. There will be a package arriving at your office in less than ten minutes. Make it nine excluding this phone call. Have a nice day, Agent Hyuuga"

Before Natsume could react, the caller hung up and the agent slammed the phone, trying hard not to curse in front of people

It was eight and a half minutes later when Asuka, the delivery boy dropped by at Natsume's desk "There's a package for you Agent Hyuuga. Don't really know who it's from. Just came by the mail today" he then gave him the small package

"Thanks"

The delivery boy nodded and went elsewhere as he had more package to deliver

Natsume heaved a sigh and stared at the small package before taking his army knife out of the drawer and opened the box. What was in there had made him froze for a second. It was a defragmented bullet. The one he would use for his sniper

"Hey... Uh... boss..." Hayate called as he stood in front of the agent.

Realizing that Hayate was there, he quickly closed the package and glared at the agent "What is it, Matsudaira?"

"Uh... Nothing. It's just that you seemed kind of spaced out"

"Is it really necessary for you to butt into your boss' personal life"

Hayate jerked and his lips twitched a nervous smile "No. Sorry" he then approached his desk

"And Hayate"

"Yes boss" the agent replied as he took his seat

"Run Sergeant Daisuki and Lance Corporal Hibino's bank records"

"On it"

* * *

It was an hour later when Sergeant Daisuki arrived but interrogation started two hours later. Natsume had interrogated him and all seem to go well as there was no sign of that pain in the neck lawyer

"Why did you take out 250,000 dollars?" Natsume questioned as he stared at the suspect straight in the eyes

Sergeant Daisuki was silent. He didn't know what to say and his actions of fiddling his watch made him look more nervous "I used it for charity"

Truth to be told, Natsume wanted to burst out laughing but he can't. He fought back a smile and shoved a picture to the suspect "You recognize this gun? Does the SIG ring a bell? This was used to kill Sergeant Aihara"

"I... I've never seen that before"

"Forensic tells a different story. We took your uniform from yesterday and found gun shot residue" Sergeant Daisuki frowned at the agent as he continue explaining "We also found this" he took out a picture of an iPod "at your house. Your fingerprints and Sergeant Aihara's were all over it. There are a lot of evidence that puts you perfectly at the crime scene"

The suspect shot a glare at the agent before confessing "He wouldn't give me the damn device! I paid him and he told me he'll get me that iPod! It contains information that people would pay for millions!"

Natsume smirked and tossed him a pen and a piece of paper "Start your confession"

* * *

Night fell a couple of hours later and as usual, Special Agent Hyuuga didn't go home yet. He was still at the bullpen . He glanced at his watch which signified it was nine o'clock but a certain forensic scientist hasn't gone home either. It was her last day here since she finally cracked the Sergeant Aihara case.

The ping sound of the elevator was heard and the agent couldn't help but smile.

The brunette walked passed his desk and a flahsed a smile at him "Night, Hyuuga. Thanks for the Fluff Puffs!"

"Heard you're leaving tomorrow"

Mikan stopped dead on her tracks "Why? You're going to miss me?"

The agent chuckled "No. Just curious"

The forensic scientist arched an eyebrow "Okay" she then stared at him and waited for the agent to say something as he stared back at her "Something else you want to tell me?"

"Coffee and Fluff Puff's on me" Natsume stated as he took his coat an headed for the elevator, followed by the brunette

"Any particular reason why you asked me out?" she asked but he simply shrugged "No wait, let me guess. I did a good job for solving the case didn't I? And now you feel bad for calling me a 'Not bad for an Osaka scientist' right?" she said eagerly with a grin before stepping inside the elevator

He shot her a look, fighting back a smile "Don't push your luck"

"I knew it!" she exclaimed as the doors of the elevator closed

* * *

**Chapter 6 is a tad short but I hope you enjoyed the chapter. So yeah, thanks for reading.**


	7. Memoirs

**Chapter 7 is finally here! Now then, Seema asked me if the fanfic is going to end soon and the answer to that question is no. I still have a lot more to write about especially the characters' past and such. So no. It's not gonna end anytime soon. I would also like to thank anonymous reviewer pretty for the postive feedback. As always, I'm gonna put a quote from Ducky!**

**The last time somebody forgot about me was my mother. She left me on the ferris wheel and realized I was missing when she was halfway home- Ducky Mallard**

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Mikan Sakura flahsed a smile at Natsume as she took the frappe and Fluff Puffs he had bought for her as they found a spot to sit, beside the window. The coffee shop was surprisingly crowded at this time of hour

The brunette had done most of the talking as the agent was quiet as ever, saying a few words to the least though there would be this awkward silence that filled the air. There would usually be this awkward moment that would usually come across them.

"Don't you ever get bored of drinking the same coffee every single day?" Mikan questioned as she took a sip of her chocolate frappe

"No" was Natsume's simple answer

"I'm surprised your taste buds didn't die with the amount of coffee you take everyday"

The agent stiffened "I'm used to it"

As she opened her mouth to say something, her phone rang and she apologized as she recognized the phone number "Sorry, Hyuuga. I've got to take this call" she then answered the phone "Hi Uncle Kazu!... Yes, my flight is tomorrow and no... there's no need to trouble you or the rest of team. I can easily get a cab... Uncle! Yes, I know. Call you as soon as I get out of the plane. Okay Uncle. Night" she ended the call and stared at the agent who had a neutral look on his face

"Your Uncle seems very protective of you" Natsume commented as he finished his drink

Mikan couldn't help but smile. Everybody told her the same thing "Well, he's my one and only uncle and I'm his one and only niece. What can you expect?" she took a bite of her Fluff Puff, enjoying the sweet taste of the candy

"Something a little less overprotective"

She gave him a look "He's just being a gentleman. We should talk more often, Hyuuga though you should talk more too"

Natsume's lips twitched a small smile "Guess so"

* * *

Morning came the next day and the forensic scientist was surprised that the whole team had tagged along including Hotaru since her flight was quite early. Seven in the morning to be exact. Mikan flahsed a huge smile at the group of people in front of her "I really appreciate you guys being here. Thank you so much for all your help"

"We should be the one thanking you, Mikan for working with us" Hotaru stated as she gave her friend a hug. The director was quite thankful that her best friend had willingly come all the way from Osaka to help with the investigation

The brunette's face lit up and she hugged her best friend back "No problem at all, Hotaru"

"Yeah, if it weren't for you, we wouldn't be able to solve the case by now" Misaki pointed out before giving the forensic scientist a hug

"Here's a little something we bought for you" Hayate said as he took out something from his backpack before giving a medium sized pink box to Mikan

The brunette's lips formed a warm smile "You guys shouldn't have. Thank you"

"You deserved it for assisting us with the cases, Mikan" Luka said as he gave her a smile

Tsubasa then got a little closer to Mikan "You know, if you're interested of having din-" he was shortly cut off by a head slap from Natsume "Sorry boss"

The rest then stared at Natsume as they waited for him to say something "What?" he asked dryly. Yes, she did a good job doing what she does best but they didn't have to trouble themselves by sending her to the airport. More specifically, dragging him to the airport

Hotaru rolled her eyes in disbelief. Natsume can be quite annoying at times "It was nice working with you Mikan. At least you can put up with a certain agent's attitude. Don't you think so, Hyuuga?"

Natsume shot his director a look before glaring at his giggling agents "Yeah"

"I'm quite sure we'll be able to work together again, right Hyuuga?" truth to be told, Hotaru was having a good time tormenting the agent

"Yeah"

The airport made an announcement that Mikan's flight will be taking off in thirty minutes and the brunette quickly picked up her bag "Alright, guys. Got to go. See you again!" she then headed for the hallway before disappearing into the terminal

* * *

An hour and a half later, the team was back at headquarters and soon, they did their usual work but Luka decided to handle the lab today as there were no post-mortems. The situation at the bullpen was the same thing as Natsume and his team try to find a lead on the Hirukawa case and as always, Natsume had gone out to get coffee

Tsubasa who had just completed his work, glanced at his two co-workers that were still occupied with their tasks as he began to feel bored "Did you guys notice the chemistry between boss and Mikan?"

The two agents rolled their eyes and ignored Tsubasa. He will usually start a conversation once boredom hits him "Yes, we know. Stop bugging us, Andou" Hayate said, his eyes never left the monitor

Tsubasa held up his hands in a mocking surrender "No need to get cranky"

"Maybe you should learn to shut your mouth, Andou" Natsume stated as he entered the bullpen with a cup of coffee in his hand. He took a sip "Status report"

Hayate and Misaki got off their chair and walked toward the huge monitor hanging on the wall. Tsubasa was the one who started the briefing first

"I ran a background check on Sasuke Hirukawa's wife and she's obviously clean but she still has a motive to kill him since all of his fortune will be given to their children and none for her"

Natsume stared at the monitor as he took a sip of his drink "Bring his wife in but don't interrogate her. Just tell her you want to ask a couple of questions. Misaki, what do you have?"

Misaki grabbed the remote from Tsubasa's hand and changed the window "I ran a full background check on the two brothers and they are both clean. They have no relation to crime. Well, minus the fact that Igarashi Hirukawa's girlfriend filed a restraining order against him. Nobody had a reason to kill these two" Misaki explained to her boss before tossing the small remote to Hayate

Hayate then pressed a button and a new window popped up "I traced the call you received from yesterday and it was just my luck when I found out that the caller forgot to hide his IP address. He was calling using the Internet" he then pressed another button to switch to another window "So I traced the IP address and the call made at a hotel in Ginza" another widow popped up, showing the address and map of the building "The call came from room 2000"

Natsume finished his drink before tossing it into the trash can and headed for his desk to get his badge and gun "Gear up. The killer might still be at the hotel"

"Not so fast, Hyuuga" Director Imai said as she approached his desk "This isn't one of your little games. We're dealing with a serial killer here and anything can happen. You need to bring backup"

Natsume scowled at her "Backup is the last thing I need" he then walked passed her and headed for the elevator, followed by the other three agents.

* * *

The team reached the hotel in less than thirty minutes and they quickly rushed into the building, notifying the manager of the hotel that there was a serial killer in the building and people were silently evacuated

"Hayate, is he still using the wifi?" Natsume questioned via earpiece as he climbed the flight of stairs to the second floor

"According to my phone, the wifi is in use right now" the agent replied as he and Tsubasa stepped out of the elevator and headed for the suite where they stumble upon Natsume and Misaki

As soon as they reached the room, they drew out their guns before leaning against the wall. Natsume then stood in front of the door before kicking it open "Federal agents! Don't move!"

The four then began to check every section of the room

"Clear"

"Clear"

"Clear"

Natsume lowered his gun as he entered the empty living room to see a netbook on the coffee table. He slowly walked towards it and knew that whatever the killer had left him would have a big impact on the agent. He turned the computer around and sighed to see what was displayed. It was an article of a newspaper from ten years ago _'Drug Lord Murdered In Hotel'_

"Boss" Tsubasa called out as he stood a few feet away from the agent "You okay?" he waited for his boss to answer as he seemed quieter than usual

"Process this whole place"

"On it, boss" the young agent replied as Natsume walked passed him, ordering the other two to get the evidence kits before exiting out of the suite. When he was sure Natsume was gone, the agent decided to take a look at the computer

"What made boss-man so un-boss like" Tsubasa muttered to himself and read the article

_Drug Lord Murdered In Hotel_

_A drug lord only identified as 'Kuonji' was murdered yesterday in the afternoon with a single gunshot to the frontal lobe. The drug lord was taken down by a highly skilled sniper judging by the distance of two blocks away from the target and the round used. The man was wanted for drug possession, murder, theft and smuggling._

"What does this have to do with boss anyway? If this was from ten years ago, boss was twenty nine. He was still a probie" the agent said to himself before closing the computer as his two co-workers enter the suite

It was two hours later when the three agents had completed processing the whole suite. There was nothing much except for fingerprints on the keyboard and glass on the coffee table

"We've been processing this place for two hours and all we got were fingerprints" Misaki muttered, looking around the living room for more clues

"I know. It's like the killer planned the whole thing from the beginning and was just waiting for us to play our part" Hayate said as he took photos of the glass covered in fingerprints

"Maybe the killer has some sort of connection with boss. I mean, most people hate boss because of his attitude" Tsubasa suggested "Some say the 'm' stands for mad and 't' stands for tormentor"

"Is that so, Andou?" Natsume asked before drinking his favorite beverage behind the now scared agent

"Boss! I was just talking about how-" before he could continue any longer, Tsubasa was given a head slap "I might get head trauma if you keep head slapping me, Boss" he complained but Natsume said nothing

They got back to headquarters shortly, bringing in Hirukawa's wife as well. Both Misaki and Tsubasa took her to the conference room instead of the interrogation room before asking her a couple of questions regarding her husband's will but their effort was fruitless as she was the one requested that the wealth would be given to their children and not her.

* * *

"Nice job planning the whole thing. If I hadn't known better, I should have hired you a long time ago" a man clad in a black suit and white t-shirt said. He had his eyes covered with black shades

"Oh it was nothing more than just a simple task because of the generous payment I received" a woman replied as she sat opposite of him in a cafe

"There's more where that came from if you'll do a better job" the man smirked "Making Hyuuga remember about his pathetic past will slowly torture him from the inside and break him into pieces"

The woman's lips formed a wicked smile "I'm quite sure that can be easily done for as long as you pay me with the right amount"

"You're going to have to prove your loyalty first if you want double of what I'm paying you right now" the man stated

The woman arched an eyebrow. What does he have in mind? "Which would be?"

The man took a sip of his drink as his lips formed a treacherous smile "You'll see" he just couldn't wait to continue their little game.

* * *

Director Hotaru Imai had been reading her best friend's personal records for quite some time. She wanted Mikan to continue working at the Tokyo branch seeing how she was able to cope with Natsume. Hiring a new one would be pointless since he or she will be out in less than one week

Hotaru closed the file and stared at the phone on her desk. She had heard many praises Mikan had received for doing her job very well.

The director sighed and decided to give another try of hiring a new one. She didn't want to trouble Mikan. If the plan doesn't work out, she can always call the forensic scientist back and she'll be here in no time

She then told her secretary to call in Hyuuga. It was ten minutes later when the agent entered her office "What is it?" he asked her dryly

She felt like head slapping the agent as what his father would have done if he was still around but fought back. She then pushed a stack of files to the agent "You can hire a new forensic scientist starting from tomorrow"

* * *

**Yeah, that was chapter 7. Hope you guys enjoyed it. See ya on the next chapter.**


	8. Strike 6

**It's been a while since I last updated this story now have I? Sorry guys but I was kinda busy with other things especially on the 23rd since it was a very very important day for me and other 15 year olds in my country. So anyway, I've got nothing else to say I think? Yeah, that's probably it. So here's chapter 8. 8 looks like a portrait view of the Mobius strip doesn't it?  
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Mikan Sakura happily walked into her precious lab with a smile plastered on her face. She had missed her real lab and couldn't wait to start the day. The forensic scientist turned on all the machines and took a lab coat before starting her work.

It was about two hours later when her uncle decided to make a quick visit to the lab with a large frappe in one hand "You've been in Tokyo for a week and haven't missed me at all?"

The brunette had a smile on her face as she heard her uncle's voice. She turned around and gave him a hug "Of course I miss you Uncle Kazu. I miss Tono, Youichi, Sakurano and even Subaru. The boys even came down to the lab an hour ago" she stated and broke the hug.

Kazu Yukihira smiled and handed her the beverage "Do they at least give you your favorite drink and how was Tokyo?"

Mikan took a big gulp of her frappe before setting it beside the keyboard "No but they did give me a box of Fluffs Puffs and Tokyo was quite interesting minus the fact that Hyuuga can be very grumpy at times"

Kazu raised a brow "Natsume Hyuuga is still there?"

"You know him?"

"His father and I are friends. We used to work together" the director stated "Hyuuga was a marine before becoming a Special Agent and then the Head Director of Naval Agency"

"Makes sense why his son is so bossy" Mikan uttered before taking another gulp of her drink "But he has this mysterious air around him like one of those assassins and his eyes were unreadable, most of the times and he's like this wizard, appearing whenever I have something"

Kazu arched an eyebrow once more, suppressing a smile "You're attracted to Natsume?"

The brunette's eyes widen as she quickly objected "What? No! Why would I want to be attracted to some guy who thinks he can get whatever he wants! Not a chance! Why would I like a guy like that?"

Her uncle couldn't help but smirk "Why wouldn't you?" he chuckled as he saw the flabbergasted expression and strolled out of the lab.

"I'm not attracted to grumpy men and thanks for the frappe!" the forensic scientist shouted from her lab, earning a grin from her uncle.

* * *

Special Agent Misaki Harada couldn't help but stare at the two empty desks in front of her. She came to work on time and was surprised to see that Tsubasa and Hayate weren't here yet. They'd usually bicker about pointless things whenever she arrives but not today.

She then heard the sound of the elevator and turned around to see Tsubasa stepping out and grumbling making her smirk "I see you are having a bad morning"

Tsubasa gave her a glare and made a mocking laugh "Very funny, Misaki" he then tossed his backpack aside and slumped down his chair. He set the hot coffee on his desk and sighed before closing his eyes.

Judging from the circles around his eyes, it would seem that the agent hasn't got a decent sleep "You didn't get enough sleep?" his partner questioned

Tsubasa's only reply was a groan. He then opened his eyes and took a sip of his coffee "Stupid construction... Outside of apartment..."

As Misaki was about to open her mouth, Special Agent Hayate Matsudaira came walking into the bullpen with a stack of folders in his hands "What's with you, Andou? Bad sleep?"

Tsubasa glared at the grinning agent "Not now, Folder Boy"

"What are those files for, Hayate?" Misaki questioned, curious to know why he is carrying a stack of folders.

The agent set them on his table before answering her question "Resumes of forensic scientist. Boss told us to find one"

"You mean we have to go all through all of these files? Are there any females?" Tsubasa questioned. It looks like he just got his energy back after hearing the word forensic scientist. That's when he got a head slap by his boss "You know boss, I might get a concussion if you keep doing that"

"Then stop being such a womanizer, Andou" Natsume replied before taking a sip of his freshly brewed coffee, noticing the grin on Misaki's face "You guys know the drill. Call me when you find one" he then was about to leave the bullpen when Andou stopped him.

"Uh... Boss, where are you going?" his reply had made his boss stop dead on his tracks "Not that it really mattered or anything. It's just that we were just wondering"

The special agent turned around "Cafe. Call me when you find one and bring them to the conference room. They're coming in..." he glanced at the wall clock "In about thirty minutes"

Thirty minutes later, the bullpen was crowded with forensic scientists that were waiting to be interviewed. The three agents then divided the folders to equal parts so that the interview can go on smoothly.

The first person to be interviewed was a graduate. She took the empty seat in front of Hayate's desk while the agent opened her file "So, Miss... Kinomoto. It says here you have a degree in forensic science and computer science. Straight A's. And a Taylor's graduate"

"Exactly" was the woman's reply with a tight smile. The agent couldn't help but feel a bit creeped out but he brushed it off.

"Okay. Come with me" Hayate stated as he got off his chair and guided the woman to the Conference Room where she will be interviewed by Special Agent Hyuuga

Tsubasa on the other hand only interviewed woman who he thinks are worthy of getting his attention. He even flirted with some of them "Your resume says here that you've once worked with Metro PD and that you have a diploma in forensic science"

"Yes" Miss Seiji stated as she pushed her glasses back up with a finger.

"You passed the first test. Now here's the true test. Are you involved in a relationship? I'm not trying to be nosy but here at N.A, we take our co-workers seriously as we don't want-" before he could continue any further, he received a head slap by his boss.

"Cut the crap, Andou" Natsume ordered as he took a sip of his coffee before heading towards the Conference Room.

As soon as Natsume entered the room, Hayate immediately came out and waited for his boss to give his final decision.

Both Tsubasa and Misaki could only watch from afar as they had people to interview. In less than 10 minutes, they could hear the door of the conference room slam open. Miss Kinomoto was running out of the room as tears came out of her eyes, shocking the rest of the people.

Everybody had their jaws dropped as they couldn't believe what they were seeing. Natsume came out moments later before tossing the file back to Hayate "Strike 1"

It looks like it's going to be a long day but luckily, most of the forensic scientist that were about to be interviewed left due to their fear of their future boss, it didn't take long for the agents to find a suitable one since the ones that were taken to meet Natsume seem to cry or curse him.

Director Imai who had been watching the whole thing via security cameras from her office sighed and massaged her temple "Hyuuga is such a pain" she muttered and tried to think of something. The only person who had the guts to stand up to him was Mikan.

* * *

A couple of hours later, the three agents were discussing about the 'Forensic Issue' since there wasn't much to do. No cases. Just paper work. They couldn't help but wonder what Natsume had said to the irritated and broken hearted peoples

"You know, we're lucky that we haven't had a case in three days" Hayate stated

"I agree. If not, Luca would have to do all the hard work. Mikan was the best forensic scientist we ever had. She definitely had the guts to stand up to Hyuuga" Misaki added

Tsubasa then suggested an idea "Why don't we ask the Director if she could ask Mikan to transfer here? I mean, Osaka has a really good reputation of solving cases quickly. They have about three scientists but from what I heard, Mikan has her own lab"

"Hey guys" Mikan greeted as she walked passed them with a couple of boxes.

"Hey Mikan" the three agents greeted before realizing that the brunette was in the Naval Agency HQ.

"Mikan?" Hayate exclaimed, confused of how she was here in Tokyo "What... How..."

The forensic scientist smiled before answering his questions "What am I doing here? I'm officially transferred here. How? Hotaru called me after the 6th strike"

"If that's the case" Misaki said as she got off her chair "It's good to have you here. At least I'm not the only woman in the team" the two then hugged each other.

"Welcome to the Naval Agency of Tokyo, Miss Sakura" Tsubasa greeted with a grin as he got up "As the 'Very Special Agent' of the team, I would like to take you out to-" before he could continue, he was given a head-slap by his boss "Welcome to the team. You'll love it here" he stated before resuming his work

"Any particular reason why you're here?" Natsume questioned, trying to hide the grin that was threatening to come out.

Mikan raised a brow "Strike 6 was Hotaru's last straw. I was asked to transfer here"

"And you said yes?"

"Yes"

"That was quick"

"Do you have a problem if I immediately say yes at something?" the scientist questioned.

"No. Just curious" the senior agent then noticed that she was carrying three boxes and decided to help by taking two of them "I'll get these down to the lab"

"That's very kind of you Agent Hyuuga" she commented as both headed for the elevator.

As soon as the two were gone, Hayate declared another campfire or better known as a group gathering in front of their desks.

"That was just un-Hyuuga" Misaki commented

"He's probably un-Hyuuga whenever boss is around Mikan"

"A good theory Andou but he's like that around certain people like Aoi and Luka"

"Luka's his childhood friend and brother-in-law. Aoi is his sister. That doesn't really count" Misaki pointed out before the three became quiet

Hayate began to think "Maybe boss likes her"

"Maybe something happened between them the night before she left for Osaka"

Misaki and Hayate stared at the agent but didn't get the chance to say anything as they heard the sound of the elevator. The three went back to their respective places and stared at their boss as he strode into the bullpen.

"What?" Natsume questioned before sitting at his desk "Get back to work" he ordered before resuming his as well

He was quite happy that Mikan was transferred here and he didn't really understand why he liked the thought of that. Seeing her everyday down at the lab, bringing her Fluff Puffs wasn't so bad since she could get the job done... Then there's her eyes which looked... Wait a minute, what was he thinking? He couldn't possibly like Mikan could he? He brushed the thought off before resuming his work.

* * *

It was a couple of hours later when Mikan managed to finish adjusting the office inside the lab. She smiled as it looked much nicer and cleaner now. The brunette didn't have a problem transferring here since it was almost the same like her lab in Osaka but then she thought of her conversation with Hyuuga.

_"That was quick"_

His words kept being repeated inside her mind. Yes, it was true that she instantly said yes when her uncle asked her if she would like to transfer to Tokyo.

_Kazu Yukihira stepped out of the elevator and into the lab where his niece was busy with her work. He was carrying a chocolate frappe in one hand and a coffee in the other._

_"Hi Uncle Kazu. What brings you to Labkan" the brunette questioned, not taking her eyes off the microscope. _

_"How'd you know it was me?"_

_Mikan turned away and faced her uncle "I smell coffee and sensed my chocolate frappe" she explained before taking the drink._

_Kazu smiled and took a sip of his own drink "Hotaru called me an hour ago asking if you'd like to transfer to Tokyo-"_

_"Yes!" she said instantly_

_Her uncle's eyes widen at her reply "Did I hear that right? Any particular reason why? Does this has something to do with Hyuuga?"_

_The scientist quickly denied this "No, no. It's just that... I... He has nothing to do with this. It's just that-"_

_"Okay, okay" Kazu chuckled "I don't want to get all personal with your relationship with Hyuuga" he teased before walking out of the lab._

_"I don't have feelings for him!" she shouted from the lab as Kazu entered the elevator._

Mikan snapped back to reality as she heard her name being called "Mikan?" Luka stated in confusion.

"Hi Luka!" she greeted cheerfully as the medical examiner examined the lab as it looked a tad different.

"Wow. You did an amazing job with the lab. It used to be... dull" he commented, amazed at how she was able to make the lab look nicer.

The brunette's lips formed a smile "Thanks. I hope you don't mind since you work here too right?"

"Not exactly since I'm a full time medical examiner. I just volunteered to help while waiting for a new forensic scientist" as he was about to continue, his cell phone rang. Luka took it out of his lab coat pocket "I got to go. My wife's calling me. See you soon, Mikan" he said before answering the call

The scientist nodded with a smile as the medical examiner left. As the brunette was finishing up on some work, the three agents decided to pay her lab a visit.

"Sweet! You changed the lab!" Tsubasa exclaimed as he walked into the lab followed by Hayate and Misaki "It looks less like the Hyuuga Torture Chamber"

"Hey guys. Glad to know you like what I did and Hyuuga Torture Chamber?"

Hayate then explained "Past forensic scientist were scared of boss except you of course. Just ignore Andou. He's like that at times"

"Like I said, Tsubasa is mentally deranged" Misaki added and grinned at the agent

"Ouch!" Tsubasa said with sarcasm as he put his right hand to his heart "You guys enjoy making fun of me. So anyway, we came down here to ask you if you want to join us for dinner"

"We'd go out for dinner once in a while"

"Sure. Where?"

Hayate said "Somewhere not too far. Just a block away"

"Okay. I'm almost done. I'll meet you guys in ten minutes" Mikan informed them.

Back at the bullpen, Special Agent Hyuuga was busy with paper work and never had the time go out for dinner with his team. It was rare for him to do so. Plus, he wasn't much of a people person. Socializing wasn't his thing.

"Um... Boss... We were wondering if you'd like join us for dinner" Hayate asked as the other two packed their belongings and shutting off their computers.

Natsume looked up "You guys go on with out me. Need to catch up with paper work"

"Sure boss?" Hayate wanted to be sure as he was quite sure that his boss barely ate except drink coffee. He shut down his computer and grabbed his backpack.

"Positive"

"Hey guys" Mikan greeted as she walked into the bullpen and noticed that Hyuuga's team was the only one left "You're not coming Hyuuga?"

"No" was his simple answer

"You sure?"

"Paper work"

"Okay but you don't know what you're missing" she said before leaving with the rest of the team "You should at least go home and rest"

Natsume didn't say anything but watched her and the rest enter into the elevator. As soon as the doors closed, he sighed and massaged his temple "Home isn't exactly home for me, Mikan" Life hasn't been the same ever since his family left him. The house was full of memories and going back would just be too painful for him. He'd rather stay here at work unless he really needed to rest.

* * *

**And that was chapter 8. Sorry it had to be a short one but I hope you guys enjoyed it. See you guys on the next chapter. Oh yeah, almost forgot. Merry Christmas to those who are celebrating it.**


	9. Restaurant

**Yes, I've been away from FanFiction for quite a while now and I have a very good reason for it but since I had a gut feeling that you guys were wondering when am I going to post chapter 9, I decided to spare some time writing it. So here's chapter 9 of Singled Out. Please take note that not everything in the story is similar to the real TV show. I like to change a couple of things.**

* * *

"I see a creepy lookin' man wearing a black jacket~ enterin' the restaurant and it looks like he's sittin' by the window~" Special Agent Matsudaira sang while playing the guitar in his hands and observing his target entering the restaurant. In the back of his mind, he couldn't fathom why he had agreed to this stakeout anyway. Disguising as a hobo by the street while singing horribly. The fake moustache he had was making his lips feel itchy but he fought the urge to rip it off "Then I saw that lawyer girl walkin' in too~ looks like she's sittin' beside the creepy lookin' guy and I have no idea why~"

People that passed by Hayate gave him strange looks while some avoided him but others tossed money into the guitar case as he continued to sing badly "How long do you think I have to stand here~" the special agent sang as he knew the rest of his team could hear him loud and clear from the SCR back in the Naval Agency "I've been standin' here for two hours long~ Woah ho~"

"Just a couple more minutes. We just need to get a clearer view of the woman" Hotaru informed the agent as she stared at the huge screen which was giving live feed via the camera that was implanted into his fake glasses "I need you to zoom in at the man and run him through facial recognition" the director ordered at both Misaki and Tsubasa

The two who were sitting at the control panel started typing on their respective keyboards "Director, we need Hayate to move a bit, we're having difficulties capturing his image" Misaki said

Hotaru nodded "You heard her Matsudaira. Move to the left a bit"

The agent did what we was told "You guys better hurry up!~ I think the dude's lookin' at me." the agent sang as he tried to keep his cool until the woman turned to look at his direction as well "And now the lady's lookin' at me too.~" he had been singing for a couple more minutes before his boss spoke.

"You're clear to go, Mastsudaira" Natsume said as he crossed his arms and looking at the screen before shifting his gaze at the two small monitors to his right where the facial recognition search was still on-going

"Thank you!~You don't know how much I'm relieved!~ To be away from here~" he pricked the guitar a couple of times before ending the song he made up. Passers-by tossed coins into the half full guitar case and Hayate made a quick bow.

* * *

**48 Hours Earlier**

Special Agent Natsume Hyuuga walked out of the elevator, taking one last sip of his morning coffee before tossing the cup into the trashcan a few feet away from the entrance of the lab before walking into it where Mikan was sitting on her chair but stood up as soon as she saw him "You called?" Natsume questioned, looking around the rearranged lab

Mikan smiled "Impressed that I transformed the dull-dungeon lab?"

He lightly shrugged "Not bad"

The scientist gave him a playful look before informing him what she found "I highly doubt that that's what you wanted to say and I found something from our vic's fingernails, Sasuke's that is. I found traces of DNA." but before Natsume could say anything, she continued "but that's not the only thing. We know that he got into a fight with the killer and during times like this, the killer would be in a state of panic which will lead him... or her to be less careful. I processed the car at the evidence garage and got a handprint on the driver's window and I'm running it right now."

Natsume only nodded and shifted his gaze to the other evidences lying on the table "What can you tell me about his cellphone."

Mikan walked over to the table "I asked Hayate to come down here thirty minutes ago and he managed to find out where the call came from, a pay phone near Ginza. He's on his way to check the phone anyway."

"Shards of glass from the car?"

"The blood on it is not from our victim so it's from our killer and you're looking for someone with a wounded fist." the brunette explained and just before Natsume could question her further, the computer started beeping and Mikan rushed to the computer "And the winner is... Asashi Fujiyoshi. Ironically he lives just a block away from Sasuke's-" Mikan turned around to tell began explaining when she realized that he was gone "-house." but what made her smile was the box of fluff puffs on the table. She grabbed the box and opened it before biting on a cotton candy "Thank you, Agent Hyuuga."

* * *

Special Agent Tsubasa Andou messaged his temples as his co-worker threw another ball of paper at him. The agent typed on the keyboard faster and let out a sigh of frustration "Stop it Matsudaira." he said sternly as he stopped what he was doing.

"Oh relax, Tsubasa. You're pretty much the same when you annoy him." Misaki stated, fingers typing while her eyes remained glued to the monitor "You two are like 6 year olds."

"Yeah." Hayate agreed "I think it's pretty fair that I annoy you too since my work is done for the day." another paper ball was thrown across the room which made the agent chuckle. He was ready to toss another one when Natsume entered the room "Hi, boss." he greeted before disposing the paper into the trashcan on his right-hand side instead.

"Talk." Natsume ordered before occupying the empty chair in front of his desk "We need more clues."

Hayate and Misaki exchanged looks before one of them spoke "The only useful lead we could get was that all the victims had one thing in common." Hayate stated before letting his co-worker continue "We found out that they would usually go to a fancy smancy restaurant located at Ginza. The brothers would either go with their family or alone."

Tsubasa then got off his chair and walked to his boss' desk "I called the manager and asked if there were any other regular customer. He told me there were a few but there was one who would act a bit suspicious and, he only drops by on Sunday."

Natsume nodded "Matsudaira, Andou. Go to Ginza and get me the list of names of regular customers and make it quick." both of the agents grinned at each other but their expression changed as their boss continued "Don't even think about stopping by at the Apple Store or I'll fire the both of you."

The two groaned before gearing up and headed towards the elevator "I'm driving." Hayate stated as he snatched the keys away from Tsubasa but the latter snatched it back and the act of snatching the keys continued "I'm older than you so that means I have every right to drive." even after they entered the elevator

"Why don't we just settle this with rock, paper and scissors?" Tsubasa suggested before the doors closed.

"Misaki."

The female agent looked away from the monitor "Yes?"

"Do a backgroud check on that lawyer, Koizumi."

"Sure thing."

* * *

"So, Mr. Takeshi, how long has your restaurant been operating?" Special Agent Matsudaira questioned the manager while Tsubasa was busy looking around the office. He noticed that the restaurant had lots of awards and certificates from the cleanest kitchen to the number one restaurant in Tokyo.

"Well, this place first opened in 2000 by my uncle and I started working here as soon as I graduated from college which was about six years ago and before I started working here, my cousin managed everything before she decided to continue her studies." the manager explained

"You seem to have lots of awards and stuff around here." Tsubasa commented as he grabbed a gold trophy on the shelf "Best Restaurant Award." the agent muttered as he read the description before setting the trophy back in place.

"It's nothing really. It was all thanks to our hardworking employees. The chefs try their very best when it comes to cooking."

"Mr. Takeshi, we're going to need a list of all your employees as well as your regular customers. I hope that won't be much of a problem." Hayate stated as he gave Tsubasa a look telling him to sit down, fearing that he might break something or do something embarrassing and stupid.

"That won't be a problem. I'm always happy to help with whatever I can assist with." the manager said with a smile.

* * *

Tsubasa and Hayate returned to the Naval Agency shortly afterwards but that was before they started bickering on who should drive back to HQ and the fight ended with a childish match of rock, paper and scissors. Misaki heard the sound of the elevator and turned to her right where both agents look equally exhausted. Another thing that she noticed was that they brought some food for dinner since none of them had eaten yet.

"Where's boss?" Hayate questioned, seeing that Natsume's desk was empty

Misaki couldn't help but grin a bit "He took Mikan out for dinner."

"Your kidding right?" Tsubasa asked with a puzzled look on his face while he handed her her food

"Trust me, I know when I see two people going out on a date."

* * *

**That was chapter 9. Sorry it had to be a tad short but I'll try to make the next one longer. You'll also find out why Hayate had to go undercover as a homeless man. Thanks for reading.**


	10. Ookami

The Naval Agency at eight in the morning was quite peaceful. Many of the agents would come by thirty minutes later or an hour or so. For Special Agent Tsubasa Andou, he was always the 'a bit late' type. Always grinning when he came out of the elevator and greeted everyone like any happy-go-lucky guy would. As for Special Agent Misaki Harada, she would usually arrive just in the nick of time. Never late since she started working here and has a habit of jokingly mocking Tsubasa. Special Agent Matsudaira wasn't any different. He was always early, calm but can easily panic at certain times as well as bickering with his co-worker who he thought of as a brother. Natsume Hyuuga was different compared to the three of them. People would consider him to be a bit mysterious and moody but a great friend and boss... well, only Luka Nogi would say that.

Director Hotaru Imai was and is feared by many except for a few people. Her employees couldn't believe it when Mikan told them that she was the kindest friend in the whole universe. She knew how her friend would act a bit childish at times so she just excused those statements. Truth is, she never did want to become the director. The former director was no other than Natsume's old man as she would say. She felt that she was a tad young to become a director at the age of 35 but that didn't stop him from making her his successor.

Mikan Sakura might be the new girl but that doesn't mean she doesn't have what it takes to solve crimes. Most of the agents like to pull harmless pranks on each others and newbies but not on Mikan Sakura since her uncle is of course the Director of the Osaka Naval Agency. In other words, she's feared thanks to her scary uncle.

Now then, ever since Mikan came by, Natsume has been acting a tad weird and this made his team extremely curious. Tsubasa called Natsume's relationship with Mikan, 'a first class affair'. Misaki called it 'a normal relationship'. Hayate called it 'attracted man dating woman for being different'. The three wondered what happened last night since the two went to dinner together and could have-

Tsubasa who was spacing out came back to reality as a pen hit his left cheek. He jumped off his seat, startled by the object "What the... who did that?" he questioned with an angry tone "I was thinking about the Random-Killer if you think I was spacing out."

"I highly doubt that." Misaki chuckled "From the looks of it, you were day dreaming."

As the agent was about to open his mouth to say something, a familiar voice cut in with a calm voice "Where's the report I asked for?" Tsubasa instantly paused. He just remebered that he was supposed to write some report and Natsume wanted it as soon as possible "Ten minutes. Do it now." the boss said with a stern tone before walking towards his desk.

"On it!"

Natsume slowly sat on his chair before realising that someone was missing "Where's Matsudaira?"

"He went to the lab to help Mikan retrive information from the damaged phone from the Hirukawa case." Misaki replied, looking away from her the monitor in front of her.

Natsume nodded before glancing at Tsubasa who was busy typing as fast as he could. He couldn't help but smirk at the sight before leaving his desk and walked straight ahead to the elevator for the lab.

As soon as Natsume was gone, Tsubasa made a hissing sound at Misaki "Misaki," he whispered "can you please help with this report. I have no idea what to write about. Please!" the agent pleaded. He then noticed that she was smirking. He mutterred something unintelligent after being ignored before resuming his work.

* * *

"How can this poor phone endure such a thing. The guy who crushed this is just plain cruel." Mikan murmured, looking at the damaged phone.

"It's going to be a bit hard retriving info from the SIM card too since it's in bad shape but I'll try." Hayate stated before carefully removing the damaged SIM card with his gloved hands "Where'd they find this anyway? It's filled with water."

Mikan raised a brow "I think Tsubasa found it just ten feet away from the bridge. The killer must have accidentally stepped on it and kicked it into the river and the phone must have gotten wet in the process with all the mud and stuff." she then took a small round plate and told Hayate to gently place the chip into it "Might as well let it dry first."

"Did you happen to get anything from the laptop? Fingerprints, hair or what not?"

"Externally, the vic's fingerprints and dust. Internally, I'm still working on that. However, while I was dusting for DNA, I found a stranger." Mikan stated as she approached the computer. She typed on the keyboard skillfully and a new window popped up "AFIS is still trying to track the fingerprint. It might take some time though."

Hayate nodded, understanding the situation before looking around. The lab was quite different from it was before now that Mikan's the new permanent forensic scientist. He wanted to know where Natsume had taken her last night. He was extremely curious right now and didn't have the guts to say anthing, fearing that his boss might magically stand behind him so he kept his mouth shut until curiousity got the better of him.

"What-" Hayate didn't get the chance to say anything else when Natsume stormed into the lab. He quickly zipped his mouth.

"Talk to me." his words were more to an order.

The computer suddenly beeped, causing both Mikan and Hayate to arch their brows. Why does Natsume have such a great timing? Mikan quickly walked towards the computer where a window popped out showing a picture of a man "You seriously, have great timing, Hyuuga."

Her compliment made him stifle "Can't argue with that."

The brunette just smiled. Unknown to them, Hayate was watching from a safe distance. He was standing in front of the door and had his mouth agape. Something happened last night and he wants to know what. He watched their every move. Mikan explained that the fingerprint belonged to somebody named 'Rei Stereo' or 'SayRio' or something. He observed how Natsume would just listen to her fully when he understood what she was saying.

Hayate had a sly look on his face. He was snapped back to reality when both Mikan and Natsume looked at him. They had similar expressions on their faces, confusion. He then tried to think of something to cover his stupid look "... I just got an idea for my next prank on Tsubasa." he mentally prayed and hoped that they'll just ignore him.

Natsume arched an eyebrow and rolled his eyes before letting Mikan explain about their recent lead "Do we have an address of Serio?" he questioned, taking a good look at the suspect.

The scientist flashed him a smile before walking towards the wireless printer five feet away "Of course." she took the paper sticking out of the machine before handing it to her boss "Road 27, Lavender Hills."

The senior field agent couldn't help but smirk. He was impressed with her skills "Thanks. Matsudaira, you're with me."

Hayate who was touring around the refurbised lab went back to agent mode before tailing his boss who was already in the elevator "On your six, boss."

It was moments later when both agents came out with Hayate tailing Natsume. The senior agent entered the bullpen before ordering his team to 'grab their gear' as he would say. Tsubasa who was miserably typing on his keyboard trying to finish his report punched a fist into the air that attracted unwanted attetion. He quickly regained his composure before grabbing his backpack.

"When will you ever grow up, Tsubasa." Misaki said. It was more of a statement rather than a question.

Her partner rolled his eyes as a reply as they both stepped into the elevator where both Natsume and Hayate were waiting "Hurry up, love birds." Natsume teased dryly as he crossed his arms.

Both agents instantly became quiet before entering the elevator. Hayate couldn't help but grin at the remark.

* * *

A black Toyota Camry halted in front of a mansion. Natsume killed the engine before checking his smartphone to confirm the address. He shoved it back seconds later and announced "This is the place. House 7, Road 27, Lavender Hills." Natsume had briefed the team about their suspect on the way to their destination and told them to be prepared for anything unexpected. The suspect was nothing more than he owner of an oil company. They passed the security house with ease after Natsume flashed his badge and proceeded to their destination.

Tsubasa had his jaw dropped at the size of the mansion. It was practically huge and well, all of the other houses were quite the same "So basically, our suspect is a filhy rich suspect?"

The other three agents stared at him "Way to go, Captain Obvious." Hayate commented with a smirk before exiting the vehicle. Misaki was quite amazed but she didn't bother to say anything.

Natsume walked up to the door and rang the door bell, waiting for the occupant of the house to answer "Mr. Serio, federal agents, open the door." the team waited for a couple of minutes until a man answered the door. Judging from the way he looks, he was a butler. He was quite old and looked like he was in his late fifties or early sixties.

"Yes, may I help you?" he questioned, looking at the four agents.

"We're looking for Rei Serio."

The butler then answered "I'm sorry but Mr. Serio hasn't return from work yet. He should be home any minute now. Please come in." he then gestured them to enter the house. They were then led to the living room.

"Please make yourself comfortable." the butler then disappeared into a hallway, heading for the kitchen.

Tsubasa was still amaze by the size of the house "Man, I can't believe the guy has a butler!" he exclaimed

"Calm down, Tsubasa." Misaki stated. He was acting like a child on christmas.

He then decided to look around the living room. There were a couple of leathered furniture and all the usual stuff except that the furnitures were far more expensive than the regular ones but what amazed Tsubasa was the television. It was a 42' inch 3D HDTV.

Just as he was about to take a closer look at the television, he was instantly pulled down by Misaki as she grabbed his arm and yanked him down into the sofa. The butler came back into the living room with a tray in his hands.

The butler offered them tea. All except Natsume declined. He was acting in a strange way. None of the others knew what was bothering their boss. He pretty much sat on the couch with his arms crossed and had a scowl on his face.

As they were enjoying their drink, they could hear the sound of the door opening.

It was then the suspect who they were waiting for entered the living room. He was wearing a suit like any businessman would and was carrying a case.

He arched an eyebrow before glancing at the butler "Who are these people?"

"They are from the Naval Agency, sir. They came here looking for you." the butler simply answered, pouring more tea into Tsubasa's cup.

Rei nodded "Alright. Thanks, Oji. I can handle them from here." the butler nodded before retreating back into the kitchen.

He then took a seat "I'm sorry you people had to wait but I was busy with work. What can I help you with?"

"Do you know this man?" Natsume questioned as he whipped out a photo from his suit. He then showed it to Rei "He was murdered near a river."

Rei's eyes widen "Yes, I know him. He's my lawyer. My company has been facing a couple of problems so I hired him to solve a couple of legal issues. It's a tragic he's dead. But what do I even have to do with this?" he asked, confused as to why the investigators were looking for him.

"We found your DNA on his computer. The one in his car."

Rei was shocked by this "Just because I used his computer to sort things out and fill in some information, doesn't mean I killed him."

"Your DNA was found on his personal computer." Natsume answered quickly, his eyes were somewhat filled with hatred and anger but he still managed to keep his cool. His co-workers had worried expressions on their faces.

The suspect scoffed "So you think I did it? He told me that he forgot to bring his laptop and used his personal one instead. Does that answer your question? If there you're not going to interrogate me anymore, I suggest you leave now."

Natsume simply smirked before gestured his team to the door. The four exited the house and headed to their car. Natsume looked over his shoulder at the man standing at the front door before opening the driver door. He started the engine as soon as the rest were inside and drove off with an even angry look on his face.

The rest didn't dare to say a word. They knew better than to disturb him at a time like this so the trip back to headquarters was filled with awkward silence.

Night came by quickly. The was ready to call it a day until Mikan came out of the elevator, a smile plastered on her face as usual. She greeted good night at everyone and finally at Natsume who was occupied with paperwork "Aren't you going home?" she questioned

He silently sighed and looked up "Paperwork."

Mikan lightly shook her head "Have you ever gone back home recently?"

He sat the pen down before tearing his eyes away from the papers "Should that be any of your concern?"

"Yes it is when you're my friend. The rest would be gone by nine." Misaki, Tsubasa and Hayate couldn't help but listen to their conversation. They just wanted to see what kind of reaction will Natsume give "Isn't that right, guys?" Mikan asked them. The trio snapped out of their thoughts before replying "Yes and "Yeah". Mikan then continued to lecture him "What about your family? Won't they wonder why you're late everyday?"

"I live alone." Natsume quickly answered before resuming his paperwork

"Well... if that's the case, then, you still have to go back home and get some rest-"

Natsume then cut her short "Alright. Stop your nagging. I'll go back home. Just give me a couple of minutes to get my things."

Mikan triumpthly smiled and said "Okay. I'll make sure you leave."

The trio who were eavesdropping suppressed their chuckles as they did not want to disturb their moment. Tsubasa was the first one to call it a day. He grabbed his backpack before saying "See you guys tomorrow!" he then headed straight for the elevator. Misaki shortly did the same thing and after that was Hayate.

Natsume grumbled something under his breath before shutting down the computer. He cleared his desk of any trash and what not before grabbing his backpack under the desk "Let's go."

The brunette smiled. The couple walked to the elevator together. Natsume pressed the button and glanced at the woman beside him and smirked "Want to go and eat somewhere? Haven't eaten yet."

"Sure." she agreed "Where are we going?"

Both entered the elevator and Natsume suggested "McDonalds?" as they doors of the elevator closed, Mikan simply said "Fine with me."

* * *

"So let me get this straight, Mikan and boss-man are currently dating?" Tsubasa said, he had a confused expression on his face.

"Yeah." Both Hayate and Misaki said

"I... uh... hacked into the security feed of the restaurant. Nothing suspicious though. Just a simple dinner. Besides, they only talked about the usual stuff." Hayate explained through his bluetooth headset as he focused on driving. The trio decided to do a little spying on the couple since it was too good to be true that Natsume might actually listen to someone. They had all agreed that Tsubasa will follow Mikan while Misaki and Hayate would drive behind Natsume, careful to not blow their cover.

"I still think this is a bad idea. How did I even end up in this mess?" Misaki questioned to herself but it was loud enough for the microphone of her phone lying on the passanger seat to pick it up.

"Because we're a team and I convinced you to come through my good looks." Tsubasa replied with a boyish grin, earning a growl from Misaki.

"Dream on Tsubasa, dream on."

* * *

"Since we're running out of time here, we'll just skip the killings and get straight to the point with Hyuuga. I want revenge for what he did. However, I didn't think he would be able to progress the case this fast. I'm guessing it's because of that new forensic scientist?"

"It's been a while since I've been to the Naval Agency but yes, the director just hired a new one. One that seems to get along with Hyuuga for an unknown reason. We can use her to lure him out."

"No, no. You don't get the point. I want to take my revenge on him in a different way. I just want him to suffer, not the rest."

"And what exactly is your plan?"

The man simply smirked, sipping his drink "We'll start the next plan in a couple of days. He's going to suffer greatly. Besides, he's a former Ookami. Tough people to break."

"Ookami?"

"An elite group of soldiers. Ookami means wolves. Something like a special forces group. You know, SAS, Delta Force, Navy SEALS and all that."

* * *

_Yay! Chapter 9 is finally done and it's a long one too. Sorry that I haven't been able to update frequently, I'm kind of busy but nevertheless, I hope you guys and girls enjoyed chapter 9 of Singled Out. Thanks for reading!" _


	11. Cliffhanger

"I have a visual of Boss and Mikan. Where are you guys?" Tsubasa stated as he held up a cellphone to his ear. His car was parked a couple of metres away from the fast food restraunt to aviod detection. Well, hopefully. The agent had been in the car for a good five minutes and was able to get a clear view of his co-workers thanks to the glass window.

"I'm parked behind you, you idiot." Hayate replied as he rested an arm on the steering wheel while observing the couple. He just couldn't resist 'observing Mikan and Natsume from a safe distance' or in other words, spying "I wish I could read lips. I seriously want to know what they're talking about."

Misaki heaved a sigh. Her only reason tagging along was to make sure the boys didn't do anything stupid that would get them countless headslaps "You guys to realize this is wrong on so many levels." she pointed out. What's the big deal if her boss wanted to date the new forensic scientist? Yes, it's quite rare that he barely shows any signs of emotion but this is just rude "You two have another three minutes and then we're out of here. I won't be surprised if Hyuuga knows we're here."

"Yes, mom." Hayate mumbled

Tsubasa however, replied something entirely different that made Hayate burst out into a fit of laughter since he added a British accent to it "_Sorry to say this but since when are you my wife?_"

Misaki's cheeks instantly redened. She could feel her cheeks getting hotter by the second "I hate you, Tsubasa."

"_I love you too, my dearest Misaki._" replied the agent with a British accent as he wriggled his eyebrows.

He could hear her growl "Will you please stop talking like that?"

He only grinned and replied "_You're just jealous because I sound like a rock star_."

* * *

Morning came quickly and the three agents were disappointed that they weren't able to get anything good while spying on their two co-workers. Tsubasa was as usual goofing off by playing a racing game on his computer. Misaki was occupied by the report she had to give to Natsume while Hayate was busy doing a maintenance on his computer in order for it to process data smoothly. Natsume on the other hand was given a briefing by Hotaru.

She was informing him about their current suspect, Rei Serio.

"We managed to get a lot of intel about Serio. He owns a number of large companies and was previously suspected of running a drug organization. Homeland Security wasn't able to get enough evidence to charge him though. Other than that, this guy is full of mysteries. His personal records barely exist." Hotaru explained as she sat opposite of Natsume. She took a glance at him before continuing "... We think he might be closely linked to Kuonji."

"So what do you want me to do about it?" the agent asked as he shifted on his seat, feeling uncomfortable when the forbidden name was mentioned.

Hotaru stared at him blankly "Do what you do best- take him down. You and your team. One of you will have to go undercover. He'll be at a well known restaurant in town tonight." she explained as Natsume got off of his seat. He headed for the door and stopped "I want everyone and everything to be ready by six, Hyuuga."

The agent then asked one more question "What about my current case?"

"It has been taken over by Special Agent Shuichi."

Natsume nodded, indicating that he understood his new case was far more serious than his current one "What's your plan?"

At that moment, he could have sworn the director flashed a quick grin but he concluded that it was due to exhaustion or something.

* * *

"Well, I tell you that they're just talkin' and talkin'~" Hayate sang as he played his guitar, receiving weird and pitiful glances from people who were passing him. "Lookie here, I think that dude's lookin' at me~ Better get me outta here~" he pricked the guitar while trying to look like any other typical homeless man.

"Hold your position, Matsudaira. We need to get a better view of the woman." Hotaru replied via earpiece.

"Woman looks familiar to me~ Think I've seen her before~" the undercover agent moved his head a bit as the hat had a small camera equipted to it.

It was then a flood of relief washed through him when Serio looked away. Hotaru's orders made him feel even better "Alright, Matsudaira. You're clear to go. Play another song and go into the alley. There, Agents Tomoyaki and Kaizu are waiting for you." she took of the headset and told Tsubasa to run the woman's face on facial recognition.

The agent then ended the song "That's all folks... for now~" he then took a short break before making one last performance. He cleared his throat and sang "I will obey the traffic rules! Teen Titans!~ I will eat everything without likes or dislikes~ Teen Titans! Earthquakes, lightning, fire, dad! Grammar, Math, Science, Social Studies, there is nothing I am afraid of! Teen Titans go! One, two, three, four, five! Teen Titans! Good night, Tokyo!" people started to gather around him, most of them, children.

Back at the at the Naval Headquarters, Tsubasa who was sitting beside Misaki inside the SRC room asked "Is this really necessary?"

"Hayate said it's a code that he uses to indicate that everything's clear." the agent explained "Ask him why he chose this song and not a simple code."

The computer suddenly beeped and they finally got a match on who the mysterious woman was "Uh... Director Imai, I think you should see this." Tsubasa uttered, he half expected the woman to be their suspect but there was just something wrong with her anyway. He typed on a couple of keys on the keyboard and the picture of their female suspect popped up on the huge screen.

Natsume Hyuuga just smirked in amusement before muttering "Luna Koizumi. The lawyer."

"Now that we know it's her, thw only question is, why is she there with Serio? They must have some kind of connection or something." Tsubasa deduced.

"Way to go, Sherlock." Misaki deadpanned.

The agent only gave his partner a pout before crossing his arms and mumbled "-thinks she's so smart with a degree in Forensic Science."

"Alright, break it up, you two. I need more than what we have about Koizumi." the director cut in "I want a full report by tomorrow afternoon."

Natsume got off his seat and opened the door when he saw Mikan in front of him, their bodies nearly touching one another "Mikan? What exactly are you doi-" he didn't have time to finish as she stormed into the room by grabbing his hand and dragging him back in as well "-ng here..."

"I just found Serio's personal records but I had to disguise myself as the director... sorry Hotaru." the brunette said as she gave her friend a nervous smile "But anyway, Rei Serio is not what he seems to be. He's the biological son to Japan's most wanted criminal and national threat, Kuonji." she explained while still linking hands with Natsume.

The room fell silent. Hotaru noticed that Natsume was beginning to tense. She then broke the awkward moment "Thank you, Mikan. I want the full report by the end of tomorrow. Until then, go home and get some rest, all of you."

Tsubasa and Misaki exchanged looks when they noticed that their co-workers' hands were still linked. Both grinned and tried to refrain from teasing them in front of the director.

"Yay! Thanks Hotaru!" Mikan exclaimed before giving her best friend a bone crushing hug.

She then replied dryly "You're welcome."

The forensic scientist then walked out the room "Aren't you guys coming?"

The two junior agents got off their seat and exited the room except for Natsume who said "I'll meet you at the parking lot." the brunette arched an eyebrow but understood that he needed to talk to the director alone.

As soon as the three were gone, Hotaru spoke "This case is bigger than we thought. It all adds up now. He's trying to get you."

Natsume merely scoffed "I can handle myself."

"Yes, of course you can but what if he gets to Mikan?"

The agent was a bit stunned by her remark "How did-"

Hotaru cut in "I know? I'm the director. I know what's going around this headquarter. It's my job. I approve of your relationship with her but I don't want her to be involved in this." she then walked out the door "Try not to be with her in public too much."

The senior agent heaved a sigh before running a hand through his hair. Sooner or later, the worst will come. His cellphone rang and the agent stared at the number for a while before answering

_"Natsume? Are you going to join us at BurgerTown? Hayate just got back and he's hungry. Want to join us?" _

Natsume ran a hand through his messy hair. He could hear the sound of a car engine starting "No... I have to catch up on some paperwork. Maybe next time?"

There was a hint of disappointment in her voice _"Ok. I'll see you tomorrow then. Bye, Natsume."_

"Yeah, bye." he shoved the phone into his pocket before heaving another sigh.

'Great just great.' he thought 'His son is trying to kill me. What's next?'

It was an hour later when Natsume reached home. The first thing that he'll do is take a quick shower and get some sleep. He parked his car in front of the porch before stepping out of it. He locked the car and headed towards the door until someone grabbed him from behind "What the-" he uttered before the tip of the needle was able to penetrate his skin, Natsume flipped the giant man over and tried to snatch the syringe but failed as somebody from his left side kicked him.

He collapsed to the ground but stood up quickly, realizing that there were three huge men surrounding him "Who the hell are you people?"

None of them said a word but instead tackled him to the ground as he was not able to focus properly due to exhaustion. He struggled underneath them and felt a pang of pain on his neck before everything went black.

* * *

_Chapter 10 is finally done! Sorry for the late update guys but hopefully you enjoyed chapter 11 and please don't kill me for the cliffhanger. I guess I've been playing too much Modern Warfare 2 hence the title 'Cliffhanger' since the game has a level called 'Cliffhanger' but I don't think I have to explain the whole level. So anyway, thanks for reading!_** By the way, can anyone guess where the quote 'You're just jealous because I sound like a rock star' came from? :)**


	12. Revenge

The guess where I asked where the quote "You're just jealous because I sound like a rockstar." came from is from Beast Boy of the Teen Titans! sapphireangel09 guessed it correctly! Therefore, she gets a huge chocolate chip cookie and the next chapter will be dedicated to her! I know what you're wondering. Why not this one? There's a slight violence to it but I don't want to spoil it too much.

* * *

A black chopper landed gracefully on the landing zone in the middle of an empty forest where the strong wind from the propellers blew the fallen leaves. A man about six feet tall stood from a safe distance. The dark sunglasses covered his eyes. He crossed his arms and leaned against a tree as the wind blew his short brown hair.

The propellers stopped rotating moments later and a man of no more than twenty three stepped out of the chopper with a duffle bag in one hand. Natsume Hyuuga had been chosen to join the country's top special forces, Ookami. How did he get in? Well let's just say his father who happened to be the Director of the Naval Agency had lots of connection and thought that Ookami was the best for his son.

"Natsume Hyuuga?" the man with dark glasses called out his name. He stretched out his hand and gave him a firm hand shake before introducing himself "You can call me Taka."

Natsume nodded in response and followed 'Taka' into the forest "Where are we going?" he questioned, looking around. There was no sign of buildings in the forest just trees and small animals.

Taka couldn't help but snicker and whispered "Typical FNG." to himself which annoyed the man behind him since he knew what it meant. He then answered Natsume's question "To the base of course. It's a bit far away so I hope you can catch up... FNG." he smirked at the remark "By the way, do you have a call sign or do we have to give you one?"

"People just call me Hyuuga."

Taka turned his head and grinned at him "Congratulations, Hyuuga. You'll be getting a call sign soon. Let's just hope it's not something funny like Soap or Shampoo." he joked before continuing "Most of us got our call signs after a series of embarrassing events except for me and a few."

Natsume felt a lump in his throat. There's a huge possibility he's going to get into trouble and his commanding officer will probably give him a funny name that will haunt him for the rest of his life "Soap...?" he uttered in disbelief. Would somebody in a special force be known as 'Soap'? Possibly.

"Yeah. You got a problem with that, new guy?" Taka asked as they continue walking "Don't worry to much about your call sign. Captain Masaki isn't one of those extremely strict and creepy commanding officers. Just don't mess with him." Taka warned.

At that exact moment, they finally reached the base. Natsume was a bit surprised at how huge it was. There was an administration building, a dorm where all the soldiers will have their fair share of rest and five obstacle courses.

"Welcome to Ookami. Best group of commandos in Japan." Taka announced and snickered when he saw the slightly amused look on Natsume's face but it wasn't because of the base. It was a bit deserted. He had imagined people training on the obstacle courses but it wasn't. Only a few were training "If you're wondering about the rest, they're on mission in Brazil. Won't be expecting them until next week. Now come on, you're going to meet your new commanding officer."

They entered the administration building. It was just a simple one with a lounge since it was just a single story building after all. Taka took a right turn and stopped in front of a door. On it was written, Captain Masaki. Taka casually knocked the door before reaching for the door knob. He twisted it and the wooden door swung open. The soldier stepped inside first, followed by Natsume.

The captain was seated at his desk, doing his paperwork. He looked up and got off the chair. He had a stern look on his face and was quite tall. He was wearing a standard military uniform with the Ookami insignia which is the combination of a wolf and two swords behind it. "Hyuuga." he acknowledge "So nice of you to join us. Let's see how you'll do in The Pit."

Natsume couldn't help but felt a bit confused. He had no idea what 'The Pit' is. The captain however noticed the look his face and explained "It's a training course, Hyuuga. I'm quite sure you'll pass."

Taka then opened the door where white light blinded his vision. He shut his eyes and covered his face with his arms wondering what the heck was going on.

* * *

The first thing that Natsume's brain could register was that he was having the mother of all headaches. His vision was blurry and he felt the urge to vomit but refrained from doing so. He blinked a couple of times to clear his vision and deduced that he was in an abandoned building as the walls were gray and the room was quite filthy. Needless to say, he was somewhere deserted. It was then he realized that his hands were tied behind a chair he was bound to. Legs firmly tied to the wooden chair. 'Great. Just great.' he thought.

The flimsy wooden door as swung open as more light covered the room. Natsume squinted his eyes from the brightness until his eyes were able to focus properly at his kidnapper. The man was about six foot tall, as tall as he is. He had a scar on his left eye that curved to his right cheek. Bald, tall and huge, the man stepped away and another man stood fifteen feet away from Natsume. Unfortunately, his face was covered by the dark side of the room.

"I assume you enjoyed your beauty sleep? If not then I apologize as this isn't exactly a five star hotel." the man stated. His voice was low and menacing. He had heard the voice before but couldn't exactly figure out from where as the drug still had its effects on him. "Do you know why you're here?"

The agent couldn't help but smirk. He'll just have to play along "Why don't you enlighten me why I'm here? We haven't even-" before he could continue, a fist met his stomach, causing Natsume to cough weakly. He tried to catch his breath and panted heavily.

"That wasn't the answer I was looking for." the captor growled. He was impatient. He'll make a mistake if Natsume was able to get the best of him.

He couldn't help but chuckle "Oh really? I thought we were having a nice and friendly chat about world peace."

The man then motioned for his henchman to hit Natsume. The bulky man's fist hit the square on his jaw. "I don't like fooling around but since you insist, I'll let Tom here have some fun beating you up." with that, the man exited the room and let 'Tom' torture Natsume for the next few hours.

"So Tom, how's your job? Do you get a good paycheck or does he treat you like garbage?" the man's only reply was a punch to his face, causing Natsume to have a bleeding nose. The agent was breathing heavily and he never felt so tired and weak in his entire life. He needed to figure out how to get out of this mess quick before he dies. He raised his head and smirked "Where did our love go?" he then received a punch to the gut, causing a small amount of blood coming out of his mouth.

* * *

"Where is he? He should have been here an hour ago?" Mikan cried as she paced in the bullpen where the rest of the team were finishing up on their work. The forensic scientist had been trying to figure out why her friend wasn't at work yet. Normally, his car would have been parked beisde a lamp post but not today. The car was nowhere in sight.

"Relax, Mikan" Tsubasa stated as he tried to calm the worried brunette "Maybe he's stuck in traffic. I mean there was this one time when he was two hours late... Oh wait, that was because he was upstairs... in SCR... I think we have a serious problem here." the agent stated and checked his watch to confirm it.

"You don't think he took the rest of the day off did you?" Misaki asked as she got up from her seat. "Hayate," she called out "trace-" before she could give out orders, he cut her

"I'm already on it. Why do you think I was silent the whole time?" he then skillfully typed on the keyboard and arched an eyebrow "His cellphone is at his house. That's weird." Mikan then stood beside him and examined the monitor.

Tsubasa then sighed "I have a very bad feeling about this." he then took his jacket and gun from the drawer "Misaki, you're with me. We're going to B-man's house." he told her as he put the black jacket on.

"Let's just hope he overslept." Misaki commented as she smoothly placed her Glock into the holster. "We need Boss' address too. Hayate, if you'd be so kind, please send the address."

"Not a problem."

"Can I come?" Mikan interrupted. She was extremely worried and wanted to make sure Natsume was alright.

Tsubasa and Misaki stared at each other before one of them said "I think it's best if you stayed here, Mikan. You know, just in case something unexpected happens." Both agents saw the disappointment in her eyes but she assured them she understood perfectly. Tsubasa nodded and said to Hayate "If we're not back in an hour, Hayate, do me a favor and call the Justice League."

Mikan couldn't help but giggle. He just knew how to reduce the tension. Moments later, the two agents left as both headed to the garage.

* * *

The first thing that both agents saw was Natsume's vehicle. It was still parked at the porch. The agents exchanged glances before stepping out of the car and examined the area. Misaki approached the car while Tsubasa decided to have a look around the house.

Misaki immediately called out Tsubasa's name as soon as she found her boss' cellphone on the ground next to the car "Look what I found." she stated and handed him the electronic device. "He and the kidnapper had a struggle too." she then pointed out the dented passanger door.

Tsubasa sighed. He feared for the worst. He the plopped himself to the ground and examined surface under the car. He handed the cellphone back to Misaki and reached a pair of latex gloves from his pocket and pulled out a syringe from underneath. He scowled "Who ever kidnapped boss is seriously looking for trouble."

"I'll call Hayate." Misaki declared and took out her phone. Moments later, she could hear his voice.

"Did you guys find Hyuuga?"

"No. He's been kidnapped."

"...I don't like where this is going..." he said but was interriupted by a worried Mikan. Misaki could hear her voice asking whether Natsume was safe or not.

"Hello? Misaki? Is Natsume alright?"

The agent sighed "We're not sure, Mikan. We think he might have been kidnapped."

* * *

Natsume suppressed a groan from escaping his mouth. His whole body ached. His hands were numb and he couldn't see clearly as a black ring was around his left eye. The door opened and his captor came back in. He stood at the spot where he was earlier and said "I'm guessing you had fun? Well, you haven't seen nothing yet. This is what you'll get for making my life miserable."

"What are you... talking about?" Natsume asked while panting

The captor sneered as he came out of the shadows to reveal himself "Well, let me refresh your mind then." he said with a menacing tone before smirking as he saw the half-shocked look on his face.

* * *

_Well, that's it for chapter 11. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter but I highly doubt it since Natsume was beaten to pulp. But I'll make it up to you guys later so don't hate me for having Natsume tortured. Don't worry, he's a hard one to break. _


	13. A Soldier on His Own

**_This chapter is dedicated to sapphireangel09. Enjoy. _**

* * *

"This can't be. It's not possible. There's no way you could have survived that shot." Natsume uttered. He was in extreme shock as soon as he saw the captor's face. He couldn't have survived a 50 caliber bullet. Nobody has. The slug will cause a person's body to break down from the inside. The agent frowned when he saw the smirk on his face.

"Oh don't worry Hyuuga. Your eyes aren't deceiving you. It's really me." Kuonji taunted. He was quite short and had black hair. His body was hunched a bit and the captor looks as though he's in his early fifties "I know what you're thinking-how can this bastard still live after being shot! Well, it's quite simple actually. The man you shot wasn't me."

Natsume gritted his teeth, seeing the proud look on Kuonji's face. "I shot you. I saw you die. There's no way I missed that shot!" the man growled. He couldn't help but feel a bit tensed. The man who killed his wife and son was standing right in front of him and he all he can do was watch, feeling helpless. Natsume wanted break free and wriggle that neck of his but couldn't.

Kuonji chuckled darkly "You didn't miss. In fact, you blew his brains out! And by that, I meant my double. Do you honestly think I'm stupid?" the terrorist stated, circling Natsume. He knew what he had done years ago but that doesn't mean he can just sit around and wait. No. He'll plan everything out carefully. Let Natsume suffer, get all depressed and then bang! When he finally snaps, he'll pull up a trick or two. Kuonji was a brilliant man. He knew when to strike and when to hide.

Natsume couldn't believe what he was hearing. All this while, he had thought that the man who ruined his life is dead turns out to be in the pink of health. He then smirked and relaxed "So what are you going to do to me now? Kill me?" The agent had thought that he might as well be dead rather than suffering.

"Kill you?" Kuonji asked in astonishment "Hell no! I might as well torture you for trying to kill me. Why don't we start with Ookami? Tell me everything about that blasted task force." he requested. "And yes, you're going to rat out on your buddies or your little girlfriend-what's her name?" he thought and rubbed his chin before pricking his fingers "Oh that's right! Mikan Sakura, dies."

Natsume's face darkened immediately at the mention of Mikan's name "If you think I'll-" before he could continue, he received a punch to the face. The agent spitted out blood from his mouth and chuckled "You punch like a girl." His remark offended the man and as the terrorist was about to strike, his hand was caught by Natsume. "Surprise."

Kuonji's right hand was twisted, causing him to scream in pain. The tall man who had been standing at a corner approached the agent but was easily taken down by Natsume. "Boys! Get your lazy bums in here!" Kuonji called out. Seconds later, men with AK-47s burst into the room. "Don't kill him just yet!" he ordered while mending his broken wrist at one corner.

There were about five men surrounding a bloodied Natsume. He blinked a couple of times to clear his vision and punched a guy who tried to stab him before throwing him across the room. The agent had been dodging them for a number of times before more men came in and he was quickly overpowered. One of them knocked him with the butt of an AK-47 before the agent blacked out.

* * *

Taka was in the lounge, cleaning his M1911. He was having a great time relaxing. There were no annoying soldiers pulling pranks on each other or screaming bloody murder. Just him and his gun. It was good to get some peace and quiet once in a while as being a Captain of a team of soldiers was never easy. Taka was cleaning the barrel of his gun when a Sergeant approached him.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, Captain but Major General Harada would like to see you. He's at the Main Building."

Taka arched an eyebrow before putting his gun down "Right now?"

"Yes, sir."

He grabbed his jacket that was hanging on the unoccupied chair next to him and thanked the Sergeant before leaving the lounge. While walking to the Main Building, he wondered why the Commander would want to see him at a time like this. Usually, it's because they have an urgent mission but that rarely happens unless it is an important one.

As soon as he entered the conference he was immediately greeted by the rest of the Ookami members. He had concluded that the mission he is about to receive is extremely important. Either that or he's in a prank.

"Glad you could join us, Captain." the commander greeted. "We have leads to Kuonji's recent safe house. We intercepted a radio communication within Tokyo. Intel has it that Kounji and his men are in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city." he explained as maps began popping up on the 70 inch screen.

"You want us to raid the warehouse?" Taka questioned.

The commander nodded "We want you to raid it and kill Kuonji at all costs. Leave no witnesses behind but keep your eyes open, men. Intel reported 55 minutes ago that Kuonji has a hostage. We believe the hostage is Bravo team's former captain, Natsume Hyuuga."

Taka was a bit shocked by what he had just heard. He knew that Kuonji survived but he hadn't seen Natsume ever since the assassination. The latter was kicked out of Ookami to avoid being charged with murder. Since then, he had heard that Natsume was hired as an agent in the Naval Agency back when his father was the director. Taka snapped out of his thoughts.

"You are to leave in two hours."

* * *

The trip back to the NA headquarters was in complete silence for Tsubasa and Misaki. They weren't able to find anything helpful except for a cellphone under their boss' car. Hopefully, Hayate will be able to trace it back to the original owner.

As soon as the two agents stepped out of the elevator, they were greeted by a distressed Mikan. She was bombarding them with questions. Tsubasa and Misaki exchanged looks before one of them took Mikan to a corner and explained to her what had happened.

Tsubasa on the other hand approached Hayate's desk before tossing him an evidence bag containing the cellphone he had recovered earlier. He then noticed Luka walking into the office. Both men exchanged worried looks "I'm quite sure we'll find boss." the young agent stated. Luka simply nodded before making a phone call to his wife.

Hayate on the other hand wasted no time working his magic on the electronic device. The computer was currently scanning for call logs on the SIM card. While waiting for the results, Mikan and Misaki walked in. The look on the forensic scientist's face was glum.

"Who in his right mind would kidnap Hyuuga?" Mikan suddenly burst out, tears threatening to come out of her eyes.

Luka rubbed the back of his neck and sighed "Plenty I can think of rigth now, Mikan. With all the cases he'd handled, it could be anybody but he's you know, Natsume. He knows how to take of himself." the medical examiner assured her.

"Any updates on Hyuuga's whereabouts?" Hotaru asked as she popped out of no where. Scaring the living hell out of everyone. "What?" she asked as everyone stared at her in shock.

Hayate coughed before answering her question "I managed to scan the call logs and found out that the owner of this phone made calls to McDonalds at 2pm yesterday-"

"GET ON WITH IT!" everyone yelled, causing the agent to flinch.

The agent grimaced "Alright. Alright. This phone belongs to a man named Kazuo Hirazaki. He has a record of being charged with theft, murder and what not. Sentenced to prison for ten years and was just released two months ago." He stated before continuing "This guy also made and received several phone calls to another specific number. I can't get an ID but I can give you the location of where the call was made. I'll have to run it through the database though. Might take some time."

"Do it." Hotaru ordered

The agent nodded before starting his work. The rest however, were told to resume their work and so they did. Well except for Mikan as she has no work. So, the forensic scientist decided to check Natsume's desk for any clues. Luckily for her, she found a small box in one of the drawers. There was a small card. Inside, words were written in red ink... or at least that's what normal people thought.

_Surprise! =)_

_-K_

She set the card aside before opening the box and was shocked to find a .50 caliber bullet covered in dried blood. It looked old, like it was from years ago. Mikan then told everyone what she had just found. It surprised everyone that something like this was in Natsume's desk. Various questions coming from the agents can be heard.

"Who the hell is K?"

"Why is the bullet covered in blood?"

"Police procedural drama, affairs between co-workers... Ratings!" Tsubasa joked before receiving a painful head slap from Hayate. "People can't take a joke these days." the agent grumbled as he rubbed his sore head.

After the questions finally died down, they called Luka up into the office to see if he knew about the bullet as he was not only Natsume's childhood friend but one of the few to work with him the longest.

As soon as Luka walked into the office, he was shown the bullet. The medical examiner's eyes widen in shock. He knew what had happened back then but he didn't expect to be greeted with such a thing.

"Luka do you know anything about this bullet?" Mikan asked with worried eyes.

His mouth was slightly agape as he looked into the eyes of the four. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Fortunately for him, before he could say a word, Hayate's computer started beeping loudly causing the agent to run to his desk.

Hayate grinned like a chesire cat as he typed on the keyboard "I managed to pin point the exact location where this phone received the call from... and our winner is... Eco Warehouse Building. It's on the outskirts of town."

"Get going." Hotaru ordered as she popped out of no where once again. "Mizuru and Hakara's team will be joining you."

The three field agents nodded before grabbing their gear and loading their standard issue pistols. Mikan and Luka on the other hand were ordered by Hotaru to go to the SCR (Satellite Communications Room) where they will be able to get the updates. In the garage, about two dozens of the agents boarded five SUV's.

* * *

"Alright boys, we're going to be raiding a werehouse called Eco Werehouse. Our main objective is to execute Kuonji at all costs. You know your positions. Bravo team will enter through the back door while Sniper team will be covering us when he break into the building via windows. And don't forget to save the hostage if you ever find him." Taka explained to his men as the helicopter they were boarding on was flying its way to its destination. "Do I make myself clear?" the captain asked.

"Yes sir!" the men in gas masks and bullet vests stated. Each men were in their standard black uniform. They were weilding MP7's equipted with a red dot sight.

Taka sighed as he leaned against his seat, looking out into the sky. There were two other helicopters to his right. It was then the ear piece he was wearing started producing a static noise _"ETA in 30 minutes."_

* * *

**That's all for this chapter, ladies and gentlemen. Sorry for the late update. I'll try to write and upload the next chapter as soon as possible. Thanks for reading and have a nice day. **_  
_


	14. Headshot

Well, it's been forever since I last updated! Sorry for the delays guys. I've been really busy and barely have time to write but enough of that. I know some of you are eager to read the latest chapter and without further ado, let's give it up for... chapter 13!

* * *

He was frozen to the bones. Doing nothing but laying in the shadows of the night with nothing than his trusted Barrett M82 which was equipted with a silencer and a variable scope. Beside him was his captain, scanning the building which was a thousand metres from them. How long had he been here? Two hours or was it two days? He lost track of time. They had been doing nothing but observing their target. Watching his every move.

There were three groups of patrol men with the standard AK-74U sub-machine guns guarding the building. Watch dogs adding more challenge to the mission. Ookami had received intel that Kuonji's right-hand man was hiding in the very building they were observing. The government had given them orders to eliminate the target as soon as they got the word of where he was hiding. The captain was told to choose one of his men to accompany him for the mission and he had chosen Natsume as he had never been involved in this sort of mission before.

Natsume had simply told his family that he'll be going to London for a programming conference and will be there for about a week. Luckily his wife didn't find it suspicious and trusted her husband. His three year old son was sad to find out that his father wouldn't be home for a week but he had assured him that he'll buy a gift for his son. Truth was, he was being sent to Russia.

"Homura will be in the dining room in five minutes. Get ready." Captain Masaki's gruff voice shook Natsume out of his thoughts and the sniper focused the sniper into the dining room where the target will enter. "He's here. Wait for him to sit and take him out." the captain said as he looked into his binoculars.

Natsume didn't say anything but waited. As soon as he saw the target sitting on the chair, he pulled the trigger. It penetrated through the glass window and hit the target on his throat. The glass he was grasping fell and the lifeless body fell to the ground like a rag doll.

The patrol men started to panic. They could hear the muffled barkings. The two assassins slowly crept from their hiding place before standing up. "Let's go. We need to get to the extraction point. The chopper will be here in fifteen minutes."

As they silently headed towards the extraction point, his captain complimented him "Good job, Hyuuga."

* * *

He was disturbed from his sleep when he heard a loud schreeching noise. It was probably from the rusty door of the abandoned building he was in. His head was spinning. The agent blinked a couple of times and looked around. Trying to remember where he was and what had happened. The last thing he remembered was that some idiot knocked him unconcious with an AK-47 or was it a handgun? He couldn't remember. He tried moving his hands but they were tied.

He sighed as his mind remembered what had happened earlier. Why can't they just finish him off already? Oh wait, Kuonji had said something about torturing him. He glanced at the door and saw a man approach him with a bucket. He splashed water at Natsume and the agent coughed. "Rise and shine, sleeping beauty." the man tormented with a smug look.

"How are you feeling? You've been out cold for two hours." the criminal stated as he walked in and motioned his henchman to leave. "You want to know something funny?" he asked as he took a seat opposite of Natsume.

"You're short? Yeah, I've heard that joke before." the agent said and received a kick in the stomach.

"That's not what I meant!" Kuonji growled before regaining his composure. "The funny part of this whole thing is that every single case you've investigated since the past week has been set-up by yours truly and two other key-people. Guess who? You've talked to them before." the criminal waited for a response but it never came. The agent just hung his head, feeling weak. "The little lawyer that I sent, Luna Koizumi, she's been working for me this whole time. I just simply sent her there to... simply scout your habits."

"And the other person?"

Kuonji smirked "This other person has been supplying all the weapons I needed for my operations. You've interviewed him for a murder case before-"

"Rei Serio."

"Well done, Agent Hyuuga! I never thought you were this smart!"

* * *

"Wolf-pack, this is Baseplate. We received intel that the Naval Agency are en route to your location. You will be working together with them to take down Kuonji, understood?"

"Wolf-pack to Baseplate, copy that." Taka replied. He made a mental note to remind his team mates that they'll be working together with the NA agents instead of going solo. Fifteen minutes later, the choppers finally arrived at the extraction point not far from where the NA agents had parked their vehicles. Tsubasa and his team had arrived just minutes after the commandos and he too was briefed by the director that they'll be working together.

"You must be Taka." Tsubasa stated firmly as the commando approached the agent. Both men shook hands "Agent Andou."

Not long after that, they began discussing on how to approach the building. They had agreed that Ookami commandos will enter through the front door of the building while the NA agents will breach the back door. Two snipers were positioned five hundred metres away.

The NA agents loaded their M4A1's while the commandos loaded mags into their MP7's. They all got into their positions. Moments later, both agencies raided the buildings. Ookami started off by planting explosives on the door. It exploded and one of them threw a flash bang to blind the enemies situated inside, making it easier for them to make the kill. Tsubasa who positioned himself on the right side and nodded at Hayate to kick the door open. Misaki and the others followed close by while aiming down their sights as they entered the building.

Kuonji who was enjoying tormenting how he would kill Mikan once Natsume is dead snapped his head at the door as he heard muffled gunfire. "What the hell's going on out there?" He approached the door and the agent took this opputunity to break free and ran towards the table in one corner as he spotted a gun.

"What the- How did you break free!" he growled, proceeding to withdraw his gun that was attached to a holster on his belt.

Natsume managed to grab the M1911 in time and both men aimed their gun at each other, firing at the same time. The handgun's bullet penetrated Kuonji's skull. The criminal's lifeless body fell to the ground with a thud. Natsume panted and tried to clear his vision. For some weird reason, he felt as though his stomach was in immense pain. He looked down and noticed that his shirt was slowly being covered in red liquid.

The door which was lokced was kicked opened and the agent look up in relief to see Tsubasa and a few other masked men.

"Boss!" Tsubasa called out as Natsume collapsed on the floor.

"We need to get him to a hospital" Taka stated as he checked on Natsume. He was relived when he managed to get a pulse. "He's losing blood and plenty of it." the commando stated as he applied pressure to the wound, easing the blood flow.

"Andou, I need you and the rest of your men to take your boss to the hospital. We'll handle the rest from here." Taka ordered as two NA agents carried Natsume away. The commando saw the worried look on the agent's face and assured him "Don't worry, Hyuuga's a hard bastard. He'll make it even if he doesn't want to."

* * *

Well, that's it for now. Thanks for reading chapter 13 and don't worry about Natsume. Like Taka said, he's a hard bastard.


	15. Their Only Wish

He opened his eyes, only to he blinded by a white light. His eyes squinted before lifting one arm to block the brightness. He looked around as his crimson eyes adjust themselves with the environment. The surrounding area was nothing more than his house. Natsume then realized that he was on the couch of his living room. He felt confused as he couldn't recall anything that had happened before. All he remembered was pain.

The agent was about to get off the couch when he felt a presence behind him. He placed a hand onto his right side but he was surprised when he realized his gun was missing. He closed his eyes and sighed before turning around to face the intruder, ready to attack him. Today just wasn't the right day to mess with him.

The moment his eyes came in contact with the man standing a few feet away from him, he froze. "Captain..." Natsume uttered. He was sure that this was just a dream that seems real. It was impossible his captain was still alive. He had been dead just over 12 years ago, shortly after his retirement.

"Didn't know you sleep like a rock, Hyuuga." the man responded with a warm smile plastered on his aged face. He looked like he was in his early to mid fifties. The former captain then walked passed the agent before taking a seat in one of the leather chairs situated in front of a fireplace.

Natsume didn't know what to say. Why the hell was he having this dream? The agent wasn't accustomed to this sort of dream. Usually, he would have nightmares but one was just plain peculiar. He turned around and looked at his captain before taking a seat opposite of him.

"Why exactly are you here?" the agent spoke after a long, awkward silence.

His captain stared at him in disbelief "Don't you remember what happened? Before you woke up that is." Masaki studied the look on Natsume's face filled with nothing but confusion and horror.

"Am I dead?"

Masaki couldn't help but chuckle at the response he got. Hyuuga never ceased to humor him, not even in his own dreams.

Natsume's eyes narrowed in annoyance. His captain noticed this and cleared his throat so that he could explain what was actually going on clearly. He had to choose his words carefully "Yes and no. Your life is currently in between life and death right now." he responded smoothly.

The agent blinked "I don't recall being injured." He closed his eyes and tried to remember an event that occurred before he woke up but came up fruitless. He couldn't recall a single event except for having an immense hatred towards Kuonji for killing his family.

Masaki the decided to help his fellow friend, feeling sorry for him "This might seem a bit shocking but you were shot." he explained, straight to the point and waited for the agent to react.

"Shot?" Natsume uttered when suddenly his mind started to fill with memories of the event that occurred like a broken dam. "I... I remember shooting Kuonji... and... Taka was there." he looked around frantically hoping that it will all come back "Andou was there too. My whole team was there to rescue me."

"Exactly. You're currently on the way to the hospital and if I may say so myself, you're losing a lot of blood." Masaki stated and pointed his finger at Natsume's blue shirt that was covered with blood.

Natsume looked down and stared at the blood before looking back up at his captain "Does this mean I'm dead?"

"Like I said, you're in between life and death but it's up to you if you want to continue to live."

The agent sighed "So why am I here in the first place?"

Masaki smiled "Easy, you want to die. You feel as if you don't have a reason to live anymore. You just killed the man who ruined your life. You accomplished your goal. There was no point for you to live anymore."

"What's stopping me from being with my family?"

"You."

Natsume stared at the man in disbelief. Was he on crack? Then again, his captain has a habit of messing around with him back in Ookami, well, when he's off duty to be more specific. He opened his mouth to say something when Masaki suddenly spoke.

"At the same time, you don't want to die." The captain explained once more "It wasn't hard to tell you were attracted to her the first time you saw her. Although I'd like to know if it was because of the way she looked or because you like her just the way she is."

Natsume gave him a look but Masaki simply defended himself by stating that it was Natsume's wife was the one who wanted to know.

The agent sighed and closed his eyes before leaning back against the chair and said "I guess it's a bit of both. She looked just like Hana except that she was a brunette and her feisty attitude was somewhat similar but Mikan is Mikan and Hana is Hana. Both are the same yet completely different by a long shot. I love them both for different reasons."

"Ah... I see... You've finally fallen in love for real this time."

"Where are they by the way? Where's Hana and Mirai? Can I see them? Are they here too?"

Masaki told him to calm down and got off the chair before looking out the window. He turned around, facing the agent and told Natsume to go outside.

As he walked towards the front door, he stopped dead on his tracks hoping that he will actually be able to see his family and not wake up just yet. He reached for the door knob and opened the door. He gingerly stepped outside and saw Mirai playing on the porch while his wife was on the bench watching their son.

Mirai who was engrossed in his activity looked up and saw his father for the first time in years. They boy's face lit up and dropped his toy car before running towards his father who had kneeled and hugged him tightly "Otou-San!" the boy cried.

Hana then slowly approached her husband who was hugging their son. Natsume got up with Mirai still clinging onto him. He looked at his wife, murmuring her name before hugging her as well. He could hear her sobbing on his shoulder. He couldn't believe what was happening right now. It was wonderful even if it's just a dream. A figment of his imagination of longing to be with his family.

Masaki who was still in the house, smiled as the family were reunited but it was up to Natsume now if he wanted to stay with them or continue his life without them.

"I missed you. Both of you." Natsume uttered as he put his son on the ground and held his hand. Hana on the other hand couldn't help but let the tears stream down her cheeks as she had not seen her husband for ten years.

"We missed you too, Natsume. Especially Mirai. There isn't a day where he wouldn't ask about you."

"I'm happy to finally see you." Natsume said as he wipes the tears on his wife's face with his thumb "I can finally be with you. With my family."

Mirai suddenly spoke up, realizing that his father was going to permanently be with them. The boy knew it wasn't time yet. Even his mother knew. "Otou-San, what about that nice lady from work?"

Natsume was taken by surprise and so he looked down at his son "You mean Mikan?"

"Yes, Natsume. That's why we are here in the first place. We just want you to be happy. If you truly love her then please don't torture yourself by thinking I would hate you for loving another woman." Hana spoke sincerely as she held her husband's hand.

"I like her, Otou-San. She's nicer that any of the other women you've dated." Natsume's son added.

He stared at his family in astonishment "Are you sure about this Hana?" Natsume wasn't really sure about the decision he was going to make seeing as to how he couldn't simply leave Mikan alone. "Because I love you and Mirai and all I want is for my family to be happy."

His wife gently placed a hand onto her husband's face "Yes. Please be happy. That's our only wish." she stated and kissed him tenderly causing their son to cover his eyes.

The two broke apart moments later and smiled at each other. "Thank you." The agent said before smiling at his son and ruffling his dark hair.

"Have a happy life, Natsume. We love you." Hana wished as she let go of her husband's hand

"Bye Otou-San!" Mirai hugged his father one last time before joining his mother.

His family said their last goodbye before slowly disappearing into light. For once in his lifetime, Natsume felt as if he was free. Free of thinking his family would hate him for loving another woman, free from the burden he had to carry.

"So, Hyuuga, you decided what to do next?" Masaki asked, startling the agent a bit as he stood to his right and looked up at the sky. "You can't stay here for long anyway but we still have time. I'll give you five minutes to decide."

* * *

**Well, that was fun. Who's for Chinese? :D **

**Nah, I'm just kidding. I was quoting that from The Joker. Anyway thank you for your patience. I sincerely apologize from the bottom of my heart for not updating. I had been very busy since the past couple of months which is why it took me so long to update but please check out my profile for more information as I won't be able to update until December. Untill then, thanks for reading and have a nice day. **


	16. I Need My Result

Natsume sighed as he was told he had only five minutes to decide whether he wanted to continue living or not. The idea of being with his family was very tempting but at the same time, he knew he couldn't abandon Mikan as well as his team. He was their leader and also their friend.

"Four minutes, Hyuuga." Masaki stated, leaning against the door frame of the house. The man was silently hoping he would make the right choice. He was quite impressed with how Natsume managed to handle his team efficiently.

The sound of Hana's voice kept repeating inside Natsume's mind 'We just want you to be happy.' He looked up at the clear blue sky and whispered "I love you guys." A small smile was present on his face. He then turned around to face Masaki "I've made my decision, Captain."

Masaki smiled "Really? Well, it's about time you get some happiness. Just do me a favor and loose the grumpy attitude a bit. Makes you look old. Look at me for instance, I don't look a day over 30."

Natsume glared at him in annoyance but soon chuckled at the joke "Whatever you say, old man."

"Alright. You want to continue to live right?"

"Yes." he answered without hesitation.

The Captain simply nodded, he couldn't help but smile "Have a nice life, Hyuuga." those were the last few words Natsume heard before his vision was blinded by another white light.

* * *

Tsubasa stared at his Boss' face before looking down at the wound he was putting pressure on. He hoped that they would get to the hospital soon. Misaki and Hayate were also on board on the helicopter en route to Tokyo General Hosptial, fifty kilometers from Kuonji's hideout.

"I'm going to call the Director to report our current progress." Hayate announced, breaking the silence that filled the chopper ever since they boarded it. He took out a special cell phone before pressing a few buttons, making a direct video conference to the SCR centre.

Mikan and Hotaru who had been waiting patiently were surprised when one of the operators announced that they were receiving a video conference.

"Secured connection established. Director Imai, you're online with Special Agent Matsudaira." the operator stated as an image formed on the huge screen.

"What's your current status, Matsudaira?" The director of the Naval Crimal Agency demanded calmly as Mikan sat on of the chairs at the back.

"I'm afraid we have some good news and bad news." Hayate responder warily while making occasional glances at his boss. "The good news is that Kuonji is dead. Boss shot him."

"And the bad news?" Hotaru asked cautiously.

"Hyuuga's been shot."

Mikan bolted up from her seat, she couldn't help but feel worried "Is he alive? Please tell me he's alive!" the scientist said as tears threatened to come out of her eyes.

Hayate didn't know what to say, his throat felt dry but it took a lot of effort to explain to Mikan "We still have a pulse. We're taking him to Tokyo General." As Hayate finished his explanation, the helicopter safely landed on the rooftop of the hospital. He glanced outside and announced, "We're here."

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes." Mikan stated and dashed out of the room, ignoring Hotaru's advice who of calming down.

Before the director had the chance to reason with her, she was gone like the wind. She turned around and thanked Hayate for the current status before breaking the connection. She sighed and massaged her temple. It's going to be a long night. She needed to call Luka and tell him the bad news.

* * *

Back at the warehouse, Taka had been inspecting Kuonji's body for fifteen minutes now. He had analyzed his fingerprints using a portable scanner, making sure that they got the right guy this time and the result didn't disappoint. A few other men were also collecting evidence.

It was then one of Taka's men barged into the room in a panic state "Captain Taka, we found Luna Koizumi. She's threatening to blow the whole place up!"

"What?!" Taka growled. "You mean to tell me this was a trap all along? Where is she?"

"She's on the third floor, Hikari and Taro have her cornered." The lieutenant explained as he followed Taka up to the third floor.

"Ace, are there any windows in the room?"

"Yes, two on the right side of the door and one on the left."

Taka nodded and thought of how to handle the situation for a few seconds before giving orders "Set up a sniper on the north east side of the building. I want another one on the south east side as well."

"Yes sir!" The soldier then dashed off to carry out his orders while Taka took out his pistol from the holster on his right hip before slowly opening the door. He was greeted by a very distressed looking Luna as she held a detonator in her hand.

"Stay back or I'll blow this place up!" she warned, eyes wide with anger and insanity.

"Calm down, Miss Koizumi. You don't want to do this." Taro said calmly, pointing his sub-machine gun directly at her.

Hikari noticed that his superior was present and hoped that he would be able to prevent her from killing them all.

"Ma'am," Taka started "It's best if you put the detonator down. We don't want anybody to get hurt." he explained, pointing his gun directly at her should she decide to blow everyone up.

"NO! I'm not going to put this thing down! Where's Kuonji? Where is he?!" Luna demanded aggressively, holding the detonator tighter than ever "He told me that if he's dead, I need to press this button!"

Taka gritted his teeth, feeling the tension rise "He's on the second floor, Ma'am. He's being taken away."

"I WANT TO SEE HIM!"

"Put the detonator down and we'll take him to you." Taka negotiated. Hopefully, she'll be able to calm down but he knew she'd freak the moment she saw his dead body.

"NO! Bring him here!"

"Ma'am, please just calm down."

"I'm going to press it!" She taunted

"Don't!" Taka yelled. As she was about to press the button, Taka pulled the trigger and shot her directly in the heart.

Luna let out a gasp before falling down to the floor with a thud. Her lifeless eyes stared into the bland ceiling of the room. Taka approached her dead body before placing his gun into the holster. He slowly took the detonator away from her left hand and gave it to Hikari.

"So this is Kuonji's girlfriend? Why would she devote her entire life to a sick freak like Kuonji?" Hikari, the new and naive member of the group asked, staring at the lifeless Luna in confusion.

Taka sighed as he used his right hand to close Luna's eyes "Sometimes, people do crazy things out of love." he uttered reminiscing the event where his best friend had attempted to kill Kuonji for killing his wife and kid. "At least it's finally over. Hikari, Taro, I want the both of you to look for the explosives."

"Yes sir!" Both men stated before leaving the room.

Ace then entered the room, surprised to see the dead body of Luna Koizumi. "Captain Taka. Mr. Serio reported that he found his father's second warehouse. Delta Team raided it and found 500 million yen worth of drugs."

"Good job, Ace. Stand by for further orders."

* * *

Mikan burst through the entrance of the hospital, desperately looking for ten reception counter. She approached one in the middle of the lobby and asked the whereabouts of Natsume Hyuuga. The nurse checked the database for a few seconds and told the brunette that he is still in the emergency room in the 17th floor. Without a minute to waste, the brunette dashed for the nearest elevator, pushing the up button before anxiously waiting for the elevator. Once an elevator was available, she stepped in and pressed the button etched with the number '17'. The time it took for her to reach the floor felt like an eternity.

Mikan quickly came out and accidentally bumped into someone, to her surprise it was Misaki. "Misaki-chan. Sorry. Where's Natsume? Is he alright?" the scientist asked worriedly, eyes desperately looking for the emergency room.

"Mikan-chan, calm down." Misaki said as she tried to snap her out of the panic state. "I can't tell much. He's still in the emergency room. The doctors are trying to remove the bullet from his abdomen. It might take a while. I'll explain everything to you." the agent stated and led her friend to the waiting lobby, a few feet away from the emergency room where Tsubasa and Hayate were silently seated. Both men stood up as they saw the two approaching. Each of them exchanged glances, obviously too worried to say anything at the moment.

It was about one hour later when Luka arrived along with Hotaru and Aoi. Hayate and Mikan had explained the current progress to the three as Tsubasa and Misaki went to get drinks.

"Luka-kun, Aoi-chan. I'm so glad you're here." Mikan stated tiredly before hugging both of them. She had met Natsume's younger sister at the airport when they had accidentally changed luggage. They were surprised once again when Natsume had introduced them both a couple of days ago.

"Same here, Mikan." Aoi replied "I have faith Natsume nii-san will pull through."

"I'm sure we all do." Luka added.

* * *

Natsume had woken up one night with cloudy vision. He couldn't see anything clearly and struggled at breathing. All he realized was that he was in pain, especially in the abdomen area. He coughed a couple of times, waking up whoever was sleeping in a chair on his right. His heart skipped a beat as he saw his late wife resting her had on the bed. His vision was still cloudy but he could tell it was Hana. It took a lot of effort for him to say her name "Hana." he stated hoarsely.

"Natsume?" a voice called out. It didn't exactly match his wife's voice but it sounded familiar, as if he had heard it from before.

"Hana." he repeated, struggling to move his arm. The woman took his hand and clasped it gently. Her brown eyes filled with worry. As she was about to call a doctor, he stopped her "Don't." he managed to say and gripped her hand. He squinted his bloodshot eyes, trying to get a better look of the woman. She looked familiar but he knew she wasn't his wife. As his vision slowly cleared, his eyes locked with Mikan's. "Mikan." he whispered.

"Natsume. Do you need anything? I can call the doctor."

He forced a smile onto his face, barely visible with the oxygen mask on. He breathed heavily before saying "I... need my result." he was attempting to joke.

The brunette stared at him in bewilderment before a smile formed on her lips. She sobbed before replying "You must be Agent Hyuuga."

Those four words were the things he had said to her when they first met. Mikan's eyes became watery as she smiled at him happily. Natsume then used his free hand to wipe the tears away. He still felt as if he had just been hit with a truck but it was less noticable when he had something else in mind. As a matter of fact, he felt happy for some weird reason. It was at that moment the memory of meeting his loved ones struck him. He couldn't help but smile at the thought.

The agent then attempted to sit up but his actions were objected by Mikan "You need to lie down. The doctor had to remove the bullet from your gut."

"I feel fine." he insisted before having a glaring contest with her. Obviously she won due to him being sick. He took off his oxygen mask, receiving another objection from her. Mikan started nagging about his health as she sat closer to him. He rolled his eyes before closing in on their distance. His lips landed softly on hers and he heard her squeak. It lasted for a few seconds before he pulled away and put his mask back on.

The brunette on the other hand still hasn't recover from the kiss. She was still in a daze. "Thanks for being by my side." Natsume whispered and lied back down to the bed. He closed his eyes and went to sleep. A large smile formed on Mikan's face as she looked down at him.

"My pleasure Agent Hyuuga. My pleasure."

* * *

**Yay! It's finished. It's finally finished. After two years of writing this story, I finally finished it. To be honest, I don't know what else to say right now other than THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT. I couldn't have finished this story if it wasn't for the readers and reviewers. You guys encourage me to write. Thank you so much. I hope you enjoyed the ending as well as the whole story. **


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